


Dolce

by Churbooseanon



Series: Escort AU [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Escorts, Escort Service, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-02-17 10:59:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 78,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2307227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Churbooseanon/pseuds/Churbooseanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felix is the best at what he does. And Locus only ever pays for the best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Engagement

Dolce. In Italian the word means 'sweet' and sometimes 'soft' in the right context. In the city of Armonia it means that and something more. 

Dolce. The largest formalized, and legal, escort business in or out of the city limits, with only the highest end professionals. From the young men and women who could be bought for a few hours for a few hundred bucks to the ones that pull in hourly rates that would make the best lawyers drool, Dolce had the best. For a price they offer a taste of the good life. A companion to dote and coo, to make their clients look good in any situation. Someone to make the client look like the most desirable person in the room, or intelligent, or just charming enough to smooth over the bumps in a social situation. 

Dolce. How the escorts are. Sweet and soft. Comforting and gorgeous. Charming and witty. They've seen it all. From young women trying to make their lovers jealous to old men trying to look relevant. From business dealings to social gatherings to mere props in elaborate plays. Men and women to make someone feel genuinely loved for that brief time they are together. Or engagement after engagement if it comes to that. They see it all, have done it all, have been it all. 

And none of them could demand a price on the same level as Felix. He had seen it all. Old business women trying to seem more attractive at parties to secure a promotion. Young heirs and heiresses wanting to taste the illusion of love when they know they are doomed to marry for power or prestige. People who have won the lottery and just want a taste of the good life. There was even a job where his entire purpose had been to sit next to someone he was sure was a criminal syndicate boss and look both pretty and intimidating.

He'd seen it all. Until tonight. Sure, the limo that had pulled up outside of Dolce for him hadn't been a first. Nor had the instructions to wear his best suit, or failing that, arrangements would be made to have a quality one bought for him. Clients always had strange requests, and Felix had learned a long time ago to just roll with the punches. That in the end there was nothing that could throw him for a loop, not even the lack of his client waiting for him in the limo, or the file waiting for him. 

There were always those people who were the kind of assholes who thought a file with information on the role he was to play was enough. Clearly this latest one, someone named Locus Castille, was one of those sorts. At least, Felix had mused as he read through the one page dossier the client had provided, he could entertain Tucker when he was done with how ridiculous the man's name was. None of this was new, none of it would ever be new. Even when it was new it was almost rote. Felix had truly seen it all, he was certain of that. Nothing could throw him for a loop. 

Nothing until the limo came to a stop and the door was opened. Until a hand was held out to him and Felix tossed the folder back across the seat so he could take it, allowing his 'date' help him from the car. Nothing until he found himself standing face to face with something that just didn't make one lick of sense. 

“I would presume you're, what was it, Felix?” 

Normally he wasn't the kind of man that stared at his clients. No, Felix was _damn good_ at what he did. There was a reason he was the top earner Dolce had. A reason this man was going to be paying two thousand an hour for the pleasure of Felix's company and feigned devotion. Yet Felix found the words leaping from him despite his best efforts to control them. 

“Well, you're just going to make _me_ look bad while I'm supposed to be making _you_ look good.”

Which, Felix thought as he looked at the man before him, might be a bit difficult. He'd worked for so many clients, and all of them had one thing in common: they were all impeccably put together. It was almost as if there was something about hiring a date that made them work harder to their appearance, which was something Felix had always appreciated. What was the point of being arm candy if his clients didn't at least try their best? But this man, this Locus, looked anything but. 

No. That wasn't exactly true, and Felix knew it from a brief glimpse. The suit he wore was expertly cut and worn, the green of his tie did everything to bring out the startling shade of his eyes, and if he was being honest this man was definitely one of the most handsome men that Felix had been paid by. Locus Castille was everything Felix could have hoped for in a client: young, handsome, and clearly wealthy. This was the sort of idiot that he could play for weeks if not months to make some serious bucks off of. Except he'd never seen a man so clearly disdainful of what was going on. It was in his posture, it was in his expression, and it sure as hell was in the way that the man's dark hair was falling from the high bun he had dragged it into at some point. Really, Felix deserved better than a guy who couldn't even keep his own hair under control. 

Still, the slip up shouldn't have happened, he shouldn't have said anything. He'd had clients send him back for less, with harsh comments to management. Kimball didn't like it much when clients reneged, and Felix hated when she got pissed at him. Not because she really would do much about it, not with him being her highest earner, but because she had a sharp tongue. 

Needless to say it was its own sort of surprise when the man rolled his eyes and sighed. 

“Does it really matter? You're paid to be here regardless of my appearance,” the man answered, and Felix found himself taking a moment to appreciate the smooth depth of his voice. Far better than the young woman with the high pitched squeak he'd had to escort to a formal dinner the week before. At least this guy's prattling would sound nice. “I assume you read the information that was left for you?”

“Yeah,” Felix rolled his own eyes, a hugely exaggerated gesture that he was sure was going to make them fall out one of these days. “Can't you, I don't know, at least... redo your hair or something. Please? You want to make a good impression at your...” Felix actually had to search his mind for the information from the folder, which was far from his usual. “Work?” 

The look Locus gave him was one of barely restrained exasperation, and Felix just sighed, throwing his hands up a little in defeat. “Fine. You know what, never mind. I can work with this.”

“I don't need to make a good impression,” the man responded, even as Felix watched his hand go up to tug his hair tie free. Part of Felix couldn't help but note how long those fingers were, how nice his dark skin tone contrasted to the black waves of his hair as they ran through to straighten it a bit before it was being pulled back up into a neater, tight bun. “Everyone there is intent on being in my good graces. There, are you satisfied? Everything to your exacting specifications? Because I am not, for the record, paying extra for fashion advice.”

It was official, Felix was going to have to keep track of how many times he rolled his eyes in this man's presence. “Whatever. It's done. So, the file said that you're the head hot shot of your company and you want me to keep people away.”

“Correct, on both points,” Locus agreed, and Felix rolled his eyes yet again at the way his hands came up to twitch Felix's tie straight. Like he had any right to even imply Felix wasn't put together enough. “My presence here tonight is necessary for all that I do not desire to be here. I don't care to be bothered, but will be forced to interact with people. Your task is to drive people away, or distract them until such a point as I can politely excuse myself from the conversation.”

“Right, that's easy to do. Fucking child's play,” Felix smirked, pushing Locus away and closing the door of the limo at last. “The paper didn't specify anything other than that I'm to be your date. So... how did we meet? Do you want to cover that or should I make something up? I can play off your cues if you really haven't thought of anything. Or, you know, I could just be a friend that's in town or something if that makes you more comfortable.”

“No. You are to be my date. Decide how we met on your own. I won't contradict you provided it's relatively tasteful. I assume someone of your... caliber is capable of that,” Locus noted, and Felix rolled his eyes yet again. “I'd rather not have to deal with the women who will attempt to gain my attention if they see me as a free agent, so to speak, and I'd rather not deal with you flirting with others. I imagine we will be here no longer than an hour.”

A simple enough set of orders, and not exactly ones Felix was unfamiliar with. It happened from time to time, but he wasn't used to them from men that, well, looked like Locus. “So an hour of running interference and that's it? I still get paid for the whole four hours you've got me booked for whether you use them or not, you know that right?”

“I'm quite aware of the terms of the contract, and comfortable with them,” Locus agreed, prompting a wide smile from Felix. 

“Awesome deal. This will be fun. For me that is. Probably not for you if you're determined to make it as bad as it sounds.”

“These things are boring,” the man sighed, shaking his head. “Endless posturing from people who have money, who want money, and who are here to make money. Add to that moderate quality drinks and finger foods, background classical music by a live quartet that rarely seems to know more than three pieces and you find something truly tedious. My time could be better spent alphabetizing files.”

Yeah, this guy sounded like all sorts of fun. It took everything Felix had not to groan over the image he was painting. “Let's get this over with then. Should I take your arm? Or are you not a touchy kind of person. If I had to guess, I'd say not.”

His tone was almost teasing, meant to be a joke, and to his shock he found Locus's arm extended to him. It made the man look almost charming, and Felix couldn't help but give him a small, self satisfied smile as he took the offering, pressing himself up against Locus as he took the arm. 

“I'm not, but there are appearances to be kept up. I would ask that the physical displays of affection be kept to a minimum. I trust you, though, to figure in when they should be peppered in to further sell the concept of a relationship.”

“I'm so glad you have faith in me,” Felix sighed as he followed Locus into the building. He really did hope this party wasn't going to be half so boring as Locus was implying.

* * * * * *

It's like any other party Locus has ever attended. The soft classical music, the tasteful decorations all done in black, white and silver, and wait staff floating around with trays of 'delicacies' that did nothing to truly satisfy the gnawing in his stomach. The only difference this time was the handsome man on his arm that was turning the heads Locus was used to having oriented toward him when he entered. Now if only he was actually worth as much as Doyle said this arrogant young man cost for a night. 

“Locus!” a voice called out from behind him, and it took more than Locus admitted not to sigh and just drag Felix away from the speaker. Instead he let himself turn and nod a greeting to the couple approaching them. 

“You made it. And look, you brought a date,” the woman, Miranda Cavenaugh if Locus remembered correctly, smiled as she looked to Felix. Her husband, ever dutiful, offered his hand to Locus to shake, which he promptly did as her attention shifted to Felix. 

“Miranda,” she offered, and Locus watched in hidden shock as Felix smiled back, charm coming from every bit of him as he lifted her hand to his lips to kiss it gently. The arrogant young man from earlier was replaced by someone that almost seemed, if you didn't look too closely, to fit in among the people Locus normally found here. 

“It's a pleasure, Miranda. I would be Felix.”

“Oh my,” she laughed, full and lively as she extracted her hand from Felix's and turned her smile on Locus. “Locus, where ever did you find this one?”

A good question, one he was waiting to hear from Felix. Apparently Doyle had lacked instructions along those lines, and he'd said something about the person he hired for Locus being good at fabrications. It would almost be amusing to see what he could come up with. 

“Actually,” Felix answered almost immediately with a small smile and by pushing himself a bit more firmly against Locus's side, “I knew someone at his office. I stopped by to meet them for lunch when I ran into Locus first. The rest is boring nonsense I'm sure. But... productive, obviously.”

“He's proven to be quite entertaining,” Locus agreed with a small smile and finding himself unable to do anything but be amused by the 'serendipitous' meeting that Doyle would have melted over. “I tend to prefer to spend my time with those quick of wit.”

The comment earned him a brief smile from Felix, and for some reason Locus couldn't help but find himself amused by that. Something told him that, despite everything he was going to enjoy this evening. If only because the more he listened to Felix talking to the Cavenaughs the more he was certain this man really could think on his feet. His lies were almost as entertaining as they were creative. 

That didn't stop the whole thing from turning into the usual parade of bodies. People that Locus knew in passing, people that wanted to know him, people that wanted him to know them. Such was something he had resigned himself to as the head of the Castille Group. People would always look to him, for him, and want. His pockets were deep, his goals lofty, and the people around him greedy. Greedy to have a piece of his business, greedy to have the political or financial weight of his support, or just greedy to have him. The entire reason he'd had his secretary hire Felix was because he needed some buffer between him and the constant maneuvering, and he was happy to see how well Felix was handling his job. 

So when Felix offered him an excuse to avoid people for a while by asking for a less intoxicating drink, Locus quickly excused himself from the latest conversation. With a soft smile and a hand at the small of Felix's back he guided his 'date' toward the bar.

“So... how many people know you here anyway?” Felix asked as they leaned against the bar counter, waiting for the tender to get his soda. 

“I am personally familiar with at least a fifth of the people present, introduced to up to about half, and the rest recognize me either way,” Locus sighed, shaking his head. “I would happily know none of them were it not necessary.”

“And you got into this business how? Surely not from your _fabulous_ people skills,” Felix whispered laughingly. Locus watched as his attention moved from the soda the tender put down before him and moved out over the assemblage. At last he nodded briefly in a direction that Locus had been pointedly ignoring. Looked toward a pair of well dressed women, one older, one younger with a lily in her hair. “That girl over there has been giving me the stink eye since we walked in. Someone you know? Possibly broke the heart of?”

“I suppose one could say I was born into this line of work,” Locus shrugged, trying to avoid the more important question as he smiled softly and nodded a quiet greeting to the women across the room. He was no where near ready to deal with that mess yet. “My family has run and possessed controlling interest of the company since its creation, which dates back to nearly the settlement of the planet. I am just the latest in the line.”

At last he pushed off of the bar, drawing Felix's attention to him. “As for the women, well, they are the reason we're here tonight. They would be the Johnsons. Mrs. Joyce Johnson, the elder, is a financial partner of mine that we will have to speak with later. Your reason for being here, though, is for the younger woman, her daughter Lily. She had been pursuing me for three years now, and I need a break. Other single women are easy enough to deflect. Lily... shall be your main issue.”

Felix nodded and sipped slowly at his drink, a smile spreading over his lips. “A challenge? Finally, some fun.” 

Locus just watched the amusement flashing across Felix's face, frowning as he watched what had to be the man plotting something, before he saw the other man's rich hazel eyes back on him. 

“So, this is what you wanted to do with your life? I mean, obviously you're pretty good at what you do, but you also seem...” Felix shrugged briefly. “But I guess you don't pay me to ask the hard hitting questions, right? So, never mind. Wanna go talk to them now? Get the hard stuff out of the way?”

“No,” Locus admitted under his breath. Taking up his father's work had been the last thing he wanted, but it hadn't been as if he'd had a choice. “On this level of the social strata you do not get to make your own decisions all of the time. Your desires don't tend to figure in if you're an only child.” 

With a sigh he pushed off of the counter and straightened his suit coat before offering Felix his hand. “If you think you're ready for a challenge on the level of a woman like Lily, then yes, by all means. It would be unseemly for us to fail to greet our hostesses.”

He wanted to avoid them, Locus truly did, but there was too many reasons to play nice with the women they were approaching. Joyce had the privilege of being one of the biggest supporters of Locus's work. He needed her support on much of his work, and offending her was far from something he desired. Lily, on the other hand... he could do without her in his life. The woman had been working too hard to win his attentions, and Locus had long since been annoyed with that. 

“Hello Locus, dear, you look so very well. This is...?” the older woman greeted the two of them as her attention settled on Felix. Again Locus watched as his companion smiled and kissed the back of her hand, as he had with nearly every woman here. 

“Felix, ma'am.”

“Oh please, Mrs. Johnson is fine. And this is my lovely daughter, Lily.”

“A pleasure,” Felix said sweetly as he held out his hand. Locus couldn't help but smile at the way that Lily merely shook it and pulled away from Felix quickly, still giving him a dirty look. 

“And you two are... what, dating?” Lily asked, not bothering to hide her disapproval in the look she shot Locus before she returned her frown to Felix. 

“Why yes, we are,” Felix grinned, and Locus stifled a chuckle at the grimace Lily gave them. 

“Why?”

Locus could almost see Felix's need to snark at the woman, and was impressed by the strength of will he saw in the man merely laughing lightly at the question. “Well, I guess because I was just in the right place at the right time. I'm not sure, but between the two of us, I _think_ he likes me.” 

Felix punctuated the playful declaration by grabbing Locus's hand, and Locus smiled gently as he felt the other man's fingers interlace with his. It was one of the more overt displays of possession that Felix had dared, and the way it made Lily glare was just wonderful. One he could make better, and did, by tugging Felix closer in what he hoped seemed to be an affectionate manner. 

“Indeed. Joyce, you remember me telling you about the man I was seeing, correct?” 

“Ah yes. The one you met when you were younger, yes?”

It took a lot for Locus not to grimace at the combination of the beaming smile from the older woman and the tight squeeze of his hand. Truth be told he had hoped she would have forgotten that detail, or that he'd remembered to give it to Doyle to throw into the information for Felix. 

But, if he was careful, he could probably salvage it.

* * * * * *

No, dammit, this was why he didn't like working with new clients that hadn't been vetted properly. This was why he preferred to sit down with the clients for at least half an hour to get their stories straight. Here he had been working a certain story for the better part of an hour and apparently the idiot had already set down ground work that he hadn't bothered to share. God he was so going to blacklist this asshole the second he...

“Yes, back when my mother used to entertain people at the house, you remember?” Locus quickly said, and Felix smiled as he listened, hoping Locus would at least give him enough to work with. “Felix's mother was a friend of hers from college, and he had the misfortune of being pulled along to one of my mother's shows.”

“Yes, yes,” Mrs. Johnson was smiling widely now and Felix didn't groan. Just what he needed, a woman that was clearly a romantic at heart. Those were always the worst to have to act in front of. They were never content with simple. “You had mentioned something about meeting the younger man you had attempted to guide through the intricacies of high society for an afternoon. Am I correct in assuming this is him, then?”

When Felix looked to Locus again he found himself met with a soft, borderline genuine smile that couldn't help but make him smile in response. There was a way that it just barely touched Locus's eyes, that softened his expression, that almost made Felix's anger fade away. 

“We met again about a month back. Apparently he's friends with one of my senior associates down in legal. He got lost looking for his friend when they were due to have lunch together and... Well, I recognized that lost look and couldn't help but take him under my wing once more.”

Felix couldn't help but laugh at the tenderness in Locus's voice, not to mention the skill with which the other man had somehow brought the lie right back around to the one he'd already established. “Like I said, right time and place. When Locus approached me I was really confused. It's been, what, years and years? Small world, huh?”

“You'll find that in our circles, the world tends to be very small,” Mrs. Johnson smiled and nods. “Lily, dear, isn't that the sweetest thing you heard? A modern fairy tale love story.”

“Well, it's a story for sure,” Felix laughed, ignoring the way Locus squeezed his hand at the comment. “For now we're just... catching up.”

“Oh yes, yes, of course. How...”

“What do you do, Felix?” Lily asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she interrupted her mother. 

“I suppose the same thing you do,” Felix grinned, “look pretty and smile. But honestly, I just moved out here so I'm still looking around. I think I might have something lined up. You'll forgive me if I don't want to talk about it, just in case I jinx myself.”

“Well the best of luck to you then,” Mrs. Johnson smiled, not even noticing the way her daughter was fuming at Felix. “Are you enjoying yourself here?”

“The getting dressed up part was hard, I'll admit. I'm not used to it,” Felix lied easily. “You can ask Locus, I was hounding him about what to wear. Luckily I had something nice packed with me. But yes, the party is lovely. Suits our modern day fairy tale, don't you think, Locus?”

And oh, the hard look he caught Lily giving him out of the corner of his eye as he smiled a Locus was almost priceless. He had been right, this woman was far too fun to mess with.

“Though I must admit,” Locus added, his voice amused and Felix assumed it had to do with how impressive Felix was, “this wouldn't have been high on my list of places to bring him so early on in a relationship. But you seemed so eager to meet him, Joyce, and your party seemed like such a fitting place to do so.”

“I'm just glad you didn't try to hide this charming dear from me for my longer,” she grinned, and Felix nodded appreciatively at her. Charm, after all, was what he was paid for. “If it helps, Felix, you look quite striking. I do believe you wear your outfit with a poise and grace many here would envy. Including Locus I fear.”

“Everyone's a critic,” Locus sighed, and wow Felix had to work hard not to laugh at the annoyed expression on his face. 

“You look good tonight, Locus,” Lily quickly offered, “More composed than normal.”

Felix started to open his mouth to explain, only to find himself easily cut off by Locus, who smiled fondly at him. “Felix fussed at me until I passed his grudging inspection.”

“His hair was a mess, but I got it under control. Or as close as it gets,” Felix chuckled, turning to Locus and reaching up to brush a stray hair back over Locus's ear. It was just as soft as he'd expected, and the touch seemed to color Locus's ears a faint red. Interesting. 

“He looks fine with his hair down too, you know?” Lily scoffed. 

“True, but you make it sound like I forced him. I just suggested putting his hair up. Whether wanted to or not was his decision in the end,” Felix countered, though he remembered Locus with his hair down and he agreed with Lily, the man would have looked better like that. 

“Lily, dear,” Mrs. Johnson said, her hand coming up to pat her daughter's arm, and Felix didn't smirk triumphantly at how borderline patronizing it was, “let's leave these two alone now. We need to greet our other guests. It was a pleasure seeing you Locus, and you as well, Felix. Please enjoy your evening.” 

It took everything he had not to laugh as he heard Mrs. Johnson chiding her daughter as they walked away. Especially since it sounded like something along the lines of 'you always get like this when Locus is near, what do you expect?'

Still, freed from that duty Felix took a step away from Locus, breathing a sigh of relief. That being said he kept a firm grip on the other man's hand. The job was far from over and they were still very much in the public eye, so he wasn't about to make people talk. 

“Jesus, are you _sure_ she's trying to get on your dick?”

The shocked, just edging on horrified look on Locus's face was almost enough to make him laugh. The urge to laugh almost got worse as he watched Locus's eyes dart around to figure out if anyone could have heard the murmured comment. And then, suddenly, Locus was laughing, a low and rich sound that made Felix smile. 

“Quite sure,” Locus agreed. “So far as I can tell, Lily was spoiled by the late Mr. Johnson. Treated as if anything in life she desired was for sale. I think she is more than a little offended by the fact that I'm not so easily bought.”

“Don't you know, _dear_ , that playing hard to get will only entice her even more? I bet you anything she's just thinking of ways to break us up or like throw something in my face,” Felix chuckled, turning to fiddle Locus's tie back to straight, carefully smoothing his hand down it in a way he knew would look affectionate to any casual viewer but really was rather tame compared to how he acted with his normal clients. “I had clients like her before, mostly to make the object of their affection jealous. You are in for a ride of your life if she keeps hounding you even after this.”

As an after thought he smiled and pulled away from Locus, “Her mom seemed nice though. Can't say Lily thinks so.”

Locus sighed heavily, shaking his head as he let Felix start to fuss with the lapels of his coat. “Luckily there are no parties I feel a pressing need to attend in the next month of so. That is about as often as I can stand to be near her. And would you stop that? You're worse than Doyle. My clothing is fine, and if it had not been you could have just told me.”

With that Locus was brushing his hands away, turning his attention instead to let his gaze follow after the Johnsons as they moved to greet another cluster of guests. “Her mother is a very important woman, and very... cheery as you can see. An in possession of a greater memory than I gave her credit for. I barely even remember telling her that story.”

Which, he supposed, explained him getting blind sided, but Felix still rolled his eyes. Already he had lost count of how many times he found himself doing that over Locus somewhere near forty or so. “What kind of fake boyfriend would I be if I didn't fuss? And you're so lucky I'm a quick thinking, pulling that shit out of the air. If you'd gotten like, Tucker... Jesus you'd be so fucking busted. Of course Tucker would have dumped you so fast for that girl. Oh, and how much more of this schmoozing do you need to do before we can leave? I swear to god the band only knows one song.”

“Three,” Locus corrected, sounding quite tired himself. “They are all variations on a theme, though, so don't feel bad about not picking them apart. I am sorry to say that we are no where near done with the 'schmoozing,' as you so colorfully put it. Luckily what comes next should be brief. Those who seek me out when I first show up tend to either be the Johnsons who I genuinely need to speak with, or people eager to work with me and thus run at the mouth. Those I am more comfortable with have grown more used to my... terse nature. Brief greetings and exchanges of pleasantries, quick trading of details and me directing them to my secretary to set up meetings, and then we're done. A few minutes apiece. After that come the people I don't really know and those are always brief to be civil.”

Felix rolled his eyes yet again at the faint smirk Locus offered him. “It is all rather boring. I am glad, though, that I seem to have brought my own entertainment.”

“I'm so glad I could be so useful,” Felix shook his head. “Well, that's what I'm here for anyway so really, glad I could be useful. Let's go make rounds then because, like, there's another lady behind you heading this way and she looks fucking _intent_ ,” he pointed out as he looked past Locus, and oh god she did. 

The woman introduced herself curtly to Felix as Cathy and then all her focus was on Locus and proposing a business merger with him. Felix mostly found himself keeping silent, not really having any idea as to what she was talking about, restraining himself to small comments here and there. Until, of course, it started to become clear that the woman wasn't taking Locus's repeated 'no's as an answer. 

Well, his job here was to get people like this away from Locus, so Felix cleared his throat to get the woman's attention, put on his most charming smile, and watched her stare at him in confusion. “This isn't really the place for this, don't you think? How do you think our lovely hostess will feel when she finds out you are just here to deal business? Yes, this clearly is where you know each other, but honestly, does this _feel_ like a meeting room?” He keeps his voice kind, but firm with the disapproval Locus clearly wasn't willing to deal with. 

Almost immediately she was straightening with a mumbled apology and backing away. Her departure earned him a genuinely relieved look from Locus, and he smiled back before they found themselves back in the thick of small talk and superficial greetings. It was a stream of people, faces and names blurring together even for him, until he looked down at his watch and found himself standing there two and a half hours later with Locus looking far past tired of the whole situation. 

“People sure want to be in your good graces, Mr. Castille.”

“I'm sorry tonight proved to be more...” Locus looked down at his watch and sighed, “busy than I expected. I wasn't able to get you out of here as soon as I had hoped. Though, I admit, you've managed to perform your task with some ease. Especially that situation earlier. That pain of a woman has been after Doyle for a meeting for weeks. I suppose I'll have to allow it now, though I doubt she'll like the answer anymore there than here.”

With a shrug he offered Felix his arm, which Felix readily took, “I think a brief goodbye to our hostess is all that is really in order before I have the car return you wherever it gathered you from. Come, it looks like Lily has gotten caught up in her own suitors. We should be able to make this brief. Oh, and you'll find a bonus awaiting you in the car. I arranged for such if you provided fitting service, and haven't seen a reason to keep it back.”

Felix laughed as he pressed against Locus's side. “It's fine,” he answered, patting Locus's arm affectionately. “Just let me help you get through the last of the motions and we're done. It could have been worse, you know?”

They quietly made their way for where Mrs. Johnson stood talking with a small group. She seemed to notice their approach because she turned away from the people she had been speaking with to smile at the pair of them. 

“Having a nice time, I hope?”

“Lovely time,” Felix agrees. “We just wanted to express our gratitude in inviting us before we leave.”

“Oh, so soon? Well, I suppose it really is getting late, so I cannot blame you,” she laughed lightly before pulling them into her harms and kissing their cheeks. “Thank you for coming, it was so nice to finally meet you, Felix. I can't wait to see you again.”

Felix allowed himself a chance to laugh, and couldn't help the thought the he hoped there wouldn't be a next time even as he agreed with her. And soon enough Felix found Locus guiding him back outside to where the limo was once again awaiting him. He stretched happily as he freed himself from Locus and ran his fingers through his hair to muss it up again as he looked up at Locus. 

“Well, what do you think? Night go how you wanted?”

“Longer than I would have preferred,” Locus admitted as his fingers came up to loosen his tie and there was something attention grabbing about the way he rolled his shoulders when Felix had moved away from him. “I hate these parties. But you do quite impressive work. Felix. I almost think you should charge more. As it is, I thank you for the pleasure of your company this evening, and hope the additional two grand waiting in the car will serve to be a nuisance fee for having to deal with Lily.”

Felix laughed, kicking at the sidewalk as he thought of it. “She was nothing I couldn't handle. Seriously. Well then, sir, it's been a pleasure working with you too. Good luck with Lily. You're going to need it.”

With that he offered his hand to Locus to shake, and he stood there quietly as Locus opened the door of the limo for him. He settled into the back seat, smiling at the small black bag in the foot well as the door closed. All that in order he gave the driver the address for Dolce's offices and sat back. If nothing else, the night had been entertaining.


	2. The Lunch Meeting

It wasn't that he was looking for the name, just that it was a bit distinctive when it showed up on Felix's schedule of clients almost a month later. Locus Castille wasn't exactly a name you'd run into on a daily basis. Especially given the guy didn't bother to just reserve under his first name or last name or some alias like other people did. It was Locus Castille when Felix went to meet him for a second party in the same limo, with the same briefing folder with some 'updated' details on their relationship in case they were asked. Locus Castille, a beautiful, insanely wealthy young man from Felix's research after the second engagement, who apparently kept requesting him by name. Locus Castille who asked him to play buffer at the highest class of parties, who sent him to a high end tailor before the second one so he'd have 'something more appropriate' to wear. Locus Castille who let him spar with Lily Johnson and enjoy the fury on her face whenever her and her mother excused themselves.

Locus Castille who booked him for a third party. For a fourth. Whose name at last appeared on a rare midday engagement in the middle of the summer that came with instructions to dress 'respectably casual' and had a small three hour chunk blocked out at double Felix's normal rates. Which was almost as mind boggling to Felix as it seemed to please Kimball and drive Tucker up the wall with speculation as to just what the fuck was up with this particular repeat client. Felix, for what it was worth, was just enjoying the new, huge fucking TV that he'd bought for his apartment from his income from Locus's engagements alone. Sometimes it was just nice to splurge. 

And speaking of splurging, Felix sighed as he stretched out on the couch in Locus's office as he waited for the real part of this fifth engagement to start, contemplating what to do with the extra income from this job. Maybe he could look into replacing the frame of his bed. There had been this really fucking awesome one he'd seen at the store that was black wood with bookshelves built into the headboard and drawers under it, and if it got that he'd have to get a new mattress and all new bedding. Or maybe he'd just take a night or two off and go on a club crawl and enjoy the way people looked at him while he danced and how they longed to touch and couldn't unless he allowed it. Go out and get laid... Yeah, that might be nice. 

As soon as he was done with this, a lunch with Locus and Joyce Johnson. 

“Maybe I was _too_ good that first night,” he sighed to himself as he stared up at the ceiling of Locus's office. “Like, that lady, Mrs. Johnson, she keeps what? Asking about me or something? Maybe I should tell her what I do for a living and get _her_ to hire me.” 

At last he pushed himself up to a sitting position and let his eyes dart around the plain black, steel and glass décor of Locus's office before his eyes settled on the man himself, his attention fully on some paperwork in front of him on the desk. 

Something about what he had said, he wasn't entirely sure what, drew a soft chuckle and a brief shake of the head from Locus, drawing Felix's attention back from the city view through the windows too handsome for Felix's good man. Honestly, some times he needed to remind himself of his hands off the clients policy. Not that it was company policy or anything. Well, no, it was. No screwing with clients, literally, on the clock. If you wanted to take them home and nail them when they weren't paying, well, that was your business. Felix, though, didn't mix business and pleasure most of the time. Made clients too clingy. That didn't mean the temptation wasn't there sometimes. 

Still, somewhere along the line he'd gotten used to being _himself_ around Locus, rather than the professional persona he adopted with clients outside of the public eye, or the characters he put on in public with them. Characters, for example, like Locus's devoted boyfriend, a charming young man new-ish to the city with a job in retail who had reconnected with a figure out of his past and fallen in love with him. Felix didn't quite like that sap, but he was getting as easy to put on as it was to let himself be himself around Locus. 

“Mrs. Johnson does, in fact, have a strange fondness for you. I assume it is because she doesn't know how much of a pain you really are,” Locus commented without looking up from his work. “Either that or the bullshit story I fed her. I hadn't expected that to explode in my face like this. How was I to know she was a hopeless romantic? Did you have to come up with that story? You were only digging us a deeper hole.”

“God, it's exactly like you said,” Felix groaned, throwing his arms up in defeat. “She's like... so desperate for her own love life to return that she's projection onto us! I have to keep thinking of things that won't let her down. Though I've got to say, that last fake date was _awesome_.” He smirked widely at Locus and put on his best dreamy, swooning voice. “You surprised me at work, picking me up and taking me to dinner at one of the most in demand restaurants in the city, and after you took me out to replace the clothes the airport lost.” 

Felix couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head. “They fucking ate that shit up. You're so fucking lucky I know you well enough now to lie about everything to cover your ass. Nice office by the way. You've got a sweet view of the city.”

That made Locus to look up from his desk at last, and even found him setting aside his pen. Felix took the small victory with a smile.

“If you know me well enough to lie about _everything_ then does that mean you don't actually find the view impressive? It is one of the few perks of working up here. Well, that and the very protective secretary who normally keeps the undesirables out of my presence.”

Locus smirked as he leaned back in his comfortable looking chair. “I'd think a devoted boyfriend would have advice for how to improve the office if he disliked it. But that's alright. Your taste is questionable as it is.”

“I said you office is nice,” Felix laughed, “I didn't say I liked it. Could use more color, but that's just me. It's probably not your style of anything if it's not a shade of gray. As your 'devoted boyfriend' I say add some color in here. I don't know, ask Doyle to bring in flowers or something.”

With that Felix pushed himself up and off of the couch, giving himself a chance to pace through Locus's office. It was almost strange to be here, in this room, looking out over the city. Somehow before today—no, before the second engagement—he hadn't thought much about the Castille building. It stood between his apartment and Dolce's HQ, so that meant he had been by it more times than he could really count, and yet he'd never looked up at its towering heights, never wondered what went on in it, never fathomed the strange man who owned it. And to be honest, it wasn't all that much now that he was here. A desk, a couch, some chairs, a few filing cabinets against one wall. And papers and folders and trays with more papers and folders in them. Granted the ceiling to floor windows were impressive, and probably the most interesting thing in the room. It was no surprise that he found himself standing there, looking out through them over the city. 

“I can see my work from here,” he muttered quietly and put his finger on the window over the distant building. “Actually, I can't, but I know it's right there.”

There's a sigh from behind him, pushing to his feet and joining Felix by the window. Felix caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye, could see the way Locus's hand reached toward him and then pulled away. 

“I dislike having the cleaning crew touch anything other than my trash can. Please don't make them linger in here to clean the windows so shortly after their last time just because you feel like smudging them.”

At last his hand came up and wrapped around Felix's to pull it away form the window, and Felix can feel how warm it is. How warm it has always been to be honest. Almost as suddenly as it was there around his Locus was dropping it, leaving Felix staring through the window. 

“I suppose I can consider adding some color. But no flowers. I don't like having them around. And before you ask, no, I'm not explaining why. Now, would you just return to the couch and wait for Mrs...”

The brief buzz of the intercom on Locus's desk cuts the man off, a prearranged signal that Mrs. Johnson had arrived. She would be through the doors momentarily, and Felix knew they couldn't just be standing here quietly when she showed up. So far as he knew Locus wasn't supposed to have any meetings scheduled before this, so he was going to have to...

Felix found a hand tugging him around, an arm wrapping around his waist, the other to the back of his neck, and then he was pulled right up against Locus and there were lips against his. 

“Thank you Doyle,” he could hear through the door. 

Well, that explained why Locus was doing this. And if nothing else, he knew how to handle this now that it was a show. His arms came up and wrapped around Locus's neck and kissed him back. In the process, he couldn't help but file away little details about Locus. How he smelled this close (an ocean breeze), the way Locus's arms felt around him (secure and warm around his waist), how his thumb stroked gently over his cheek (following the line of his cheekbone), and even how he tasted (coffee with a touch of peppermint). What he hates himself is the fact that he can't help the way he licks over Locus's lips.

“Oh my, I'm sorry!” Mrs. Johnson's voice pulled him from his attention to Locus. 

And Felix did pull away, turning to look at the door and blushing from his actual embarrassment.

“I'm so sorry to interrupt, dears. I can come back later,” she smiles at them. 

All Felix could do was clear his throat and curse himself mentally as he licked his lips, remembered the taste of coffee and peppermint. It took a lot to step away from Locus and try to find his voice. “Hello ma'am.”

“I'm sorry,” Locus added almost immediately, and Felix wanted to hit him over the amusement thick in his voice. “It seems that I lost track of time. I could have sworn I had a few more minutes. It is good to see you again, Joyce. I hope your driver took the scenic route this time. Traffic on the direct route from your home can be so troublesome at this time of day.”

Felix found himself not even given a chance to speak before there was a hand in his, and even then no time before Locus was tugging him toward the older woman. 

“I almost regret asking for the scenic route this time,” Mrs. Johnson laughed lightly. “It is truly lovely to see you, Locus. And Felix, you look handsome as always.”

Felix smiled right back, putting on his kindest expression and slipping easily into the smooth, charming, sappy man she thought of him as. “Thank you. You look radiant yourself.”

With that she laughed more fully and motioned for the two of them to follow her. “Let's be on our way then, shall we?” Mrs. Johnson turned on her heels and walked off, clearly expecting them to follow. Felix shot Locus an amused look before dragging him after her.

* * * * * *

The drive itself turned out to be rather pleasant, for all that it turned quickly to small talk and the little lies that Felix was paid to weave. Locus had proven after four previous encounters to be rather poor at making up the little details that their romance needed to be believed, and Felix had gotten so used to just sprinkling them into the conversation for Joyce's sake. The one he indulged in on the ride wove the picture of the two of them having been spending some time apart while Felix settled into his new apartment and job. Which, of course, brought up all new questions from the older woman, most of them hinting not too subtly that Felix should have long since moved in with Locus, given how long they had been dating, given the fact that they had known each other 'since they were children.' 

Felix found himself so unprepared for that comment that he had struggled for a lie—he never had to struggle for a lie—and then it had happened. Locus had provided. 

“My fault, I'm afraid,” Locus had interrupted with a sigh. “Call me old fashioned, but I don't want to disturb Felix with my schedule, as would invariably happen if he moved in with me. I keep hours much like my father did. It wouldn't be fair to him to have him waiting up for me at night when I could easily be in the office well past two or three in the morning.”

Locus had offered him a soft smile and a gentle squeeze of he hand before continuing. “Besides, it is far more entertaining to have gifts sent to his apartment than to leave them for him in mine. He still doesn't know how I got a copy of his apartment key before he did. I talked to the owner of his building and saw to it that there was a care package awaiting him when he moved in.”

“I was not expecting it,” Felix had quickly jumped onto the lie, grinning at Locus. 

“Oh, it sounds like you do spoil him so.”

“He does,” Felix had chuckled as the car pulled to a stop outside of the restaurant Joyce had insisted on treating them to lunch at. 

From there it was all boring and mundane again. Small talk about Locus's work—boring—and Felix's 'new' job at a small clothing boutique while he 'got on his feet' and really adjusted to the city, to Locus, to such a different life than he'd known before. There was the obligatory brief story talking about something sweet that Locus had done for him—a box of hand made chocolates to celebrate their anniversary—and future plans including a weekend out of town at a bed and breakfast. At last, though, the meal spun down, leaving Joyce asking after dessert and looking at the two of them with an almost expectant smile. Felix wanted to scream and throw his hands up in the air. For all that it had been an amazing, and free meal, he was so beyond ready to be done with this job. He had never liked small talk, even if he was good at it, and at least at the parties he had people to verbally spar with rather than be some mushy, gooey love sick asshole around. 

He didn't want dessert when it was offered. Wanted to drag his hands over his face and groan. Instead, in properly sickening romance movie fashion he turned his attention to Locus with a loving smile and playfully asked, “Want to share something?”

The answer would be no. That was the only reason he was asking, of course. He'd seen Locus poking around at the remains of his meal as lunch had run its course, but it was something he had to ask. It was _considerate._

What he didn't count on was the fact that Locus had gotten used to Felix. That he'd learned how to read the other man's expressive face, even through the lies. Maybe especially through the lies. Locus couldn't help but smile at the look Felix wore, adoring with a flicker of exasperation in those lovely hazel eyes. Already there was fatigue in Felix over the job, that he just wanted to get back to his own life. And the only thing Locus could find himself thinking of was the earlier snark over the lack of color in his office. No, that wasn't true. He could remember a thousand other little quips while they'd waited for Joyce to arrive, and on the job before that, and before that, and before that. 

Locus smiled at Felix, soft and sweet in the way he had learned to do just for his fake boyfriend, and managed not to laugh at the way he briefly shied away from him as he leaned closer to look over the dessert menu Felix was holding. 

“The caramel fudge cheesecake looks wonderful. I wouldn't ask if it was just for me, but if you're willing to share, darling, then I'd happily take a slice.”

“Sure,” Felix answered, still smiling for all that Locus could sense the anger just under the surface, “that sounds good.”

Locus just smiled softly back at him as Joyce waved their waiter over, relayed the orders, and then excused herself for a break to powder her nose. The expected tirade wasn't held back any longer than it took the old woman to get out of earshot, and Locus just grinned as Felix's smile melted into an almost baleful glare. 

“I'm going to puke on you,” Felix threatened easily. “I'm _stuffed_. Just so you know, I'm going to feed you more than half of that cheesecake.”

“Next time, don't touch the windows in my office,” Locus chuckled in response. “And if you feed me too much you're only going to make her harder to deal with. A deeper and deeper hole, Felix.”

To be honest, Locus wasn't sure what he had expected in response to his comment. It definitely wasn't the full, genuine laugh that Felix gave him. He thought back, genuinely strained for a memory of that sound before that moment, and couldn't find one. 

“Is this how it's going to be with you now? I didn't fucking mean to touch your window. Calm down.” His laughter trailed off as Felix gently patted Locus's knee. Locus just stared at the action while Felix continued. “I'll feed you a bit and we'll see what comes of it. Seriously, she'll get her fill of our sap and move on. Worst comes to worst down the road, just say you dumped me.”

Locus was left there staring at Felix, trying to figure out whether it was the suggestion or the fact that he too had eaten too much that left such a sour feeling in his stomach. He had just enough time to process Felix smiling softly at him again and plaster on his own tender expression before Joyce returned, almost at the same time as the waiter arrived with their dessert. And sure enough Felix was immediately cutting a bite off of the cheesecake and holding the fork out to him with a wide, expectant, and clearly barely composed grin.

It was all he could do to bite back a sigh and keep his eyes from rolling over Felix's damn grin. It would hardly be an appropriate response for the relationship they were supposed to be in. Really, there was nothing Locus could do, especially with the way he caught Joyce looking on at them eagerly, but lean toward Felix and wrap his lips around the fork. He needed too badly to be on her good side for a series of negotiations coming up in the next week, there was no way that he was going to blow it now. The flavors, sweet and rich on his tongue, made his stomach quietly complain, but he still pulled back slowly, licking the fork as clean as he could while he went, keeping his eyes firmly on Felix's. 

At least it tasted as good as it had sounded on the menu.

That was the last thought he had a chance for before Felix was leaning forward and those soft lips were pressed against his again. It was brief, almost frustratingly so, there and then gone, replaced with Felix smiling as his thumb ran over the corner of Locus's lips. Locus just stared as Felix's thumb came back smeared with cream and chocolate, and his eyes wouldn't have torn away from the sight of Felix sucking lightly on his thumb even if he had wanted them to. He was still staring in shock as Felix returned his attention to the plate and took a small bite of the dessert for himself. 

Strange, he could hear Joyce talking, but not a single word seemed to settle in his mind. His attention was on Felix's brief responses, and those lips. At last he tore his attention away and reached for his coffee for a brief sip, hiding behind the drink while he tried to figure out just what was going on. No, he decided after a sip, this wasn't even remotely shocking. It was a simple gesture: small, empty, and perfect for the act they were putting on. In fact, it would make sense for him to join the act rather than be so flustered by it, correct?

With a new resolve Locus reached for the second fork on the small plate, spared Joyce a few words in response to something she said that he couldn't remember half a second later, and cut a bite sized piece off of the cheesecake. Really, it was far too good of a quality for the escort to be graced with, but Locus still turned toward his 'boyfriend' and held out his fork for Felix with a smile. Their eyes met, a flash of annoyance there again, before Felix was leaning in for the bite. The way his lips wrapped around the fork was practically sinfully beautiful. And dear god, the way he licked his lips clean after he pulled back fully was even worse. 

Another look in Felix's eyes, this one longer and more threatening and before Locus really knew what was going on the plate between them was clean, his mouth was filled with the lingering taste of chocolate and caramel, and he could see Joyce staring at them wistfully in the corner of his eye. Strange, he kept thinking he couldn't handle another bite, and then Felix would hold out another forkful and...

“I think I'm full,” Felix cut the thought off with a simple comment after licking his lips clean. “You?”

Dear god, were those eyes lingering on his lips? Yes, Locus was certain they were. Those eyes on him while Felix had licked his lips, cleaning a lingering spot of chocolate off of his lips. A tongue he'd felt against his own lips earlier in his office.

Locus didn't think. He just reached out, his fingers curling around Felix's chin while he leaned in and pressed their lips together for the third time that day. They're sweet, a hint of chocolate and the rich filling of cheesecake before Locus was pulling back and smiling at Felix. 

“Now I am, too,” he whispered before releasing Felix and returning his attention at last to Joyce. “Why don't you two start for the car while I settle the bill?”

* * * * * *

If the ride to the restaurant had been pleasant, the ride back was anything but for Felix. On the surface it's the same. The same small topic, except new topics. And for all that he tried to focus, Felix found his mind always circling back around to the same thing. Over and over to the kisses. They were sitting so close to each other, because what else would be expected of them, especially after their little display with the cheesecake. 

All Felix wanted, and wanted desperately, was to shift away from Locus. To put distance between them that the charade couldn't hold up in the face of. So he let himself sit there, chitchatting, his hand in Locus's between them. What he didn't put up with was the way he found his thumb running absently over the back of Locus's hand, a fond little gesture that was absolutely unneeded in this situation. While he didn't pull his hand away from Locus's, he did force his thumb to stop, let his mind wonder what the fuck he was doing. He just wanted this damn job to be over and to be free to go back about his life.

So why, dear god, did Joyce have to insist on walking them all the way up to Locus's office once more? Felix wanted to scream, to shout, to shake the damn old woman, or maybe punch Locus just for spite, but he was being paid far too much for such an indulgence. He kept his civility, his feigned fondness, and his peace until the door of Locus's office closed behind them, leaving Joyce on the other side to talk to Locus's secretary, Doyle. Now Felix found himself stranded in Locus's office once more, no way out any time soon, and stuck with Locus himself. 

“I hope you don't mind that I wait her out in here,” he mumbled as he flopped down in a chair in front of Locus's desk.

“I fear you're going to have to,” Locus returned immediately as he circled around his desk and sat down, opening a file that hadn't been there when they'd left. Felix watched as he spread the papers out, selected a pen, and turned his attention to the work in front of him. There was silence for a long moment before Locus spoke again, not even bothering to look up for all that he smirked. “I will say that you did, as ever, an admirable job today. I do apologize for Joyce, though. I still cannot begin to fathom why she likes your company.”

Locus kept his eyes glued to the paperwork, pretending to review the information item by item, but he knew he wasn't going to get anything done while Felix was sitting just across from him. Not when he still had the taste of those lips, sweetened by chocolate. Worse was the way the sweep of Felix's tongue still lingered in his head. Frustrated his hands came up unthinkingly to tug his hair free. There wasn't anyone he was due to see for another hour, save this unintended time with Felix. He could afford the small indulgence of letting his hair down for a while, so to speak. 

“At least she didn't bring Lily with her. I think she's come to accept the fact that you and Lily will never get along.”

His comment earned him a snort from Felix, who leaned back in the chair and resisted the urge to put his feet up on Locus's desk. “I'm not _that_ bad of company, am I?” He grinned playfully at Locus, for all that he could see the other man was pointedly not looking at him. “You don't enjoy our fake dates? I gotta say, that apartment key story earlier? Very nice. I could practically see the hearts popping off of her.”

Felix shrugged as he watched Locus lean more over his paperwork, tried not to watch the way his hair fell around his face. How would it feel, he wondered, to reach out and grab a handful of it, just to really feel it between his fingers? Feel it in more than passing. To roll it between his fingers, pull on it and see how Locus would react. With a sigh he shook his head and told himself not to think about it. Turned his attention instead to the conversation at hand. “I'm pretty sure that if she brought that bitch with her, it would be lunch and a show.”

He couldn't sit and stare, couldn't let his eyes keep lingering on that hair, those eyes, those lips. He pushed to his feet and wandered back over to where he had stood by the windows earlier. 

“Hey, look! You can't even see my fingerprint here. What if I just slap my palm right on the glass? How annoyed would you be?” he teased, raising his hand to do just that. It hovered there, just short of the glass, and he looked back over his shoulder toward Locus in his chair. 

Locus didn't move, of course. Just sat there behind him. Felix bet he didn't even look up from his papers as he spoke. 

“It sounds like you don't want your good behavior bonus,” Locus observed, struggling to stay staring at his papers. Yet he couldn't help but wonder just what it was in Felix that made the other man always try to get a rise out of him. Almost worse was the fact that he couldn't begin to figure out why he wanted to get a rise out of Felix. 

“I will admit that I don't dislike your company, Felix,” he admitted at length. “You are too good at what you do to be completely frustrating. I just don't find it amusing in the method by which I come by it. I could have a sarcastic, self-assured friend, or boyfriend, as far lower cost than you come to me by.”

Somehow, it helped to remember that this was merely one of so many business transactions in his life. Yes, he was trapped in his office for a time with Felix, but it never had to happen again. All he had to do was tell Doyle to stop hiring him. Just stop paying. Locus knew that there was a file in a drawer in his desk that had the cover story Doyle had already provided for the 'break up' with Felix. It would take nothing at all to play that card. A constantly evolving story that changed with every encounter and Locus relaying information to Doyle. Currently it stood at Locus going to visit Felix's new apartment as a surprise and finding him having sex with another man. Joyce would not hold such a break against him, and it wasn't like he had ever seen Felix at parties he had attended before this—he knew he would have noticed a man like Felix—so there would be no one to contradict his sotry. 

Why couldn't he bring himself to play the card? It was the center of his hand and he still held it so close.

“I'm just fucking with you,” Felix laughed, dropping his hand to his side and moving to lean on the desk right next to Locus's chair. “You _could_ hire someone cheaper, you know. I fucking guarantee that it would be a disaster of course, and I am, in fact, awesome.”

“But, you could try,” he admits, shrugging. “Pick a girl from Dolce instead. I can recommend a few. Of course, you won't have half as much fun with them as you do with me. Cheaper yes, but you get what you pay for, Locus. There's that and... Well, anyone else would probably try to sleep with you.” 

That last thought came out a bit quieter, but worlds more amused. More because he needed it to than because he was actually amused. He knew for a fact that pretty much everyone else in the company engaged in sex with clients. There were always a few like himself that didn't but it was always personal. 

“And you are a good looking guy, so I wouldn't blame them. Not to mention the fact that you, uh, kiss really nice.” 

No, he shouldn't look away. He had to finish, didn't want to seem weak. Still, he did find himself looking away as he continued. “So... I can see it happening. But you'd probably kill them or throw them out of your precious window.”

“It almost sounds like you want me to hire someone else,” Locus observed dryly, and truth be told, he didn't want to. He told himself it was because Felix was good at what he did, and honestly, he didn't want a woman on his arm. Lily would tear into another woman far more readily than she already did with Felix. He'd had more than one date cornered in a bathroom and flee with tears in her eyes. He had long since come to hate her for that.

“In addition, if I wanted sex, I could get it easily enough,” he shrugged, not looking at at Felix beside him. “As you have noted, I am attractive. Or so I've been told. And, apparently, I am able to kiss.”

At last he turned in his seat to look up at Felix, let himself watch the other man for half a moment. “To be honest, I could care less about sex. That isn't why you were hired. You came highly recommended. And I wouldn't throw anyone from these windows... they don't open. I'd take them up to the roof to push them off. Speaking of, would you like to see the roof?”

He smirked at Felix, letting his amusement come through so the other man would know he didn't actually mean the light threat.

Felix, unbelievably, laughed. “Well, at least I know how I'll go if I piss you off badly enough. And just to reassure your clearly fragile ego, yes, you _are_ nice to kiss. Seriously, I've kissed a _lot_ of people, but you're by far the nicest to do so.”

His hand came up to wave the compliment off before it settled to be something more meaningful than Felix. “Anyway, you think she's gone yet? You should phone Doyle to check and see if she's still bothering him so I can get out of here and you go back to your exciting work I know you love so so much.”

“I'll give Lily one thing,” Felix adds quickly as his hands moved without him wanting to, immediately finding themselves fixing the lapels of Locus's jacket, to smooth it down. It was enough, close enough for him to easily reach out and briefly, gingerly touch Locus's hair. “You do look better with your hair down. Unkempt... but nice.”

“No one's watching, Felix,” Locus pointed out, managing not to breathe too hard at the warm hands briefly against his chest, or lean toward the light pull at his hair. “You don't have to fuss.” 

Why was Felix's touch so intoxicating? 

No. No, Locus had not just thought that. 

“Doyle knows to buzz when she's left. I imagine that should be...”

He was cut off by a buzz from the intercom. It broke the tension that suddenly seemed to fill the office, and he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief at the sound of it. Finally, he would be free of Felix. 

“The car will be waiting for you out front by the time the elevator gets you downstairs.”

Felix smiled as he pushed off of the desk, even allowed himself a brief laugh. “Can't I, as the fake boyfriend, fuss over how his man looks?” 

Of course the question came as he was walking around the desk and walking backward toward the door. “Hopefully there won't be a next time, right? You've got to be sick of playing this game. Lord knows I am.”

Then he was through the door, leaving Locus staring down at his desk. After a moment he reached down for the desk drawer and pulled out a single red folder. 

Clearly it was well past time to end their little game.


	3. Unexpected Meeting

After a month and a half, well closer to two months really, Felix realized it really was over. Every time he got his new schedule he scanned it for Locus's name. Locus had never actually gone so long between engagements before, and when the month mark came and went Felix gave up looking. Not, he told himself, because he really wanted to see Locus. It was just that his time with Locus had been the most fun he'd had with a client in a while. Sure, his other engagements were fun, in their own ways, but with Locus it was just... 

Maybe the lie was too good. Felix had wondered about that more than once. Fought the way that he had found himself thinking about Locus in the time leading up to and immediately after an engagement. How the last time they had met he had spent the whole elevator ride away from Locus's office thinking about his lips, his hair, his eyes, the way his chest had felt under his hands as he'd straightened Locus's coat. Maybe it had been the way that he'd caught his thumb brushing contently over Locus's hand when they were together, or the way Locus seemed so intent when he'd been eating the cheesecake Felix had held out to him. 

Yes, the lie had been too good. Too... different. 

With other clients Felix had almost always been free to tell anyone who asked that he was an escort. Locus had required something else entirely. Yes, it had to be the lie that he'd been hooked on more than anything, or at least it had been better than admitting anything else. Felix resigned himself to believing it was the lie. It was easier, it was clearly the only answer, and it was one he could latch on to easily because there wasn't any chance he would ever run into anyone involved in said lie outside of it. 

To say running into Lily at the mall two months after the last time he had laid eyes on Locus Castille caught him completely off guard would be an understatement. 

“Felix, so good to see you.” 

There was a long moment where all he could see was a woman that he never should have run into again in his life. A woman with perfectly curled brown hair and expensive perfume wafting around her and almost professional caliber make up designed to accent the blue of her eyes and the pink of her skin and the rose of her blouse. She had the air of the social elite, and that of a woman who was used to getting her way. And to see her in a common mall was... well, insane. 

Felix had always been quick on his feet, though, and far quicker with his tongue, and so even as he took it all in he was kicking himself into the act that should have died with the end of his contracts with Locus. “Lily! What a pleasant surprise.”

His voice was as sweet as he could make it, but he didn't make a move to approach her. With his luck he'd be called upon to carry one of the variety of bags hanging on her arms with names of stores on them that seemed below her level, especially considering the expensive look of the sunglasses nestled on top of her head. “How are you?”

“Fine I suppose,” she answered, voice borderline disdainful. 

Felix didn't bite his lip, didn't demand to know 'what the fuck does that even mean bitch, just answer the damn question,' and he didn't even reach out to snatch those stupid designer sunglasses off of her face. Really, he deserved a fucking award for all of the restraint he was displaying.

“I'd ask how you were, but it looks like you're doing fine. Are you on a break or something?”

“Sorry?” Felix asked, frowning. “Break?”

“Ma told me you work clothing, so...” she waved her arm dismissively around them toward the variety of stores that were clearly meant to be options. 

“Oh,” Felix caught on, remembering an old discarded lie and quickly picking it up. Why did he bother? What did he owe Locus? It wasn't like he was being paid for the lie this time. And yet he still found himself throwing another lie out there to cover for the earlier ones. “Oh no, that... I quit. I'm just shopping. Well, window shopping until now, as you can clearly see from my lack of purchases.”

“Well, I was on my way to see your... boyfriend,” Lily provided, voice sweet and disarming and with a pause so pregnant with a poorly veiled distaste that Felix almost choked on it. “Care to come with? It'll be quite the surprise.”

She didn't even wait for him to reach, just moved immediately toward him and wrapping one of her bag laden arms around him.

“Uh... I really can't. I mean, I'm sure he's busy and-” Felix tried to say, but Lily was already dragging him toward an exit. 

“Nonsense, he'll make time for _you_ , right?” she insisted, and there was something in her voice that made him frown. 

Had she been harassing Locus recently? That was what it sounded like. No, why the hell should he care? He was just a former client and this was a lie he hadn't even enjoyed playing at, so why the hell couldn't he just pull his arm from Lily's? Why was he letting her pull him along like he actually had any business seeing Locus? 

“Sure,” he heard himself say slowly as she smiled and guided him by her grip on his arm. “But it's late, Lily. Nearly seven. He... I mean Locus... I'm not sure of his schedule as of late, so he might not even be in right now.”

“Of course,” she answered, exasperation clear in her voice. “It's after business hours. We'll be stopping by his apartment.”

Felix resisted the urge to point out that Locus hardly seemed the sort of guy who went home even that early. Clearly he was born and bred to be a workaholic. How could she not know Locus well enough to realize that? Worse, how had he let himself come to pick that much up about the other man? 

But of course she had it in her head that they were going to Locus's home, his private domain, and that he wasn't going to put their asses right out on the curb for the brazen intrusion. 

“You know,” he tried, switching tactics, “I really don't think it's polite to drop by unannounced. He'll be angry I bet.” 

Not that the argument came at anything near reasonable timing. They were already in Lily's lily white convertible—really not a shock—and driving from the mall, all of Lily's bags in the back seat while Felix tried not to bite his lip over how reckless the crazy woman's driving was. 

“Please. Who doesn't like seeing their boyfriend or girlfriend or whoever showing up randomly to surprise them?” she said as sweetly as Felix had, and for half a moment Felix couldn't help but think that she'd make a halfway decent escort. 

“Oh it will _definitely_ be a surprise.”

* * * * * *

On another night the surprise would have been on them in the form of being turned away at the door of the building. As it was Locus was a man of many eccentricities, one of which was a personal rule that he always put aside two nights a week for himself. He would pack up early at the office, around four, leave all of his work behind, and come home to his simple pleasures. A book read in his favorite chair with a cup of one of his favorite wines. Sometimes personal favorite movie enjoyed with gourmet popcorn and a small box of peppermint candies. Once the entertainment was done he retreated into his well appointed kitchen to cook for himself—his favorite and long standing hobby of self-indulgence—before sitting down with his book and another glass of wine. 

To say it was a surprise for him to hear the buzzer by his door that announced a message from security would have been an understatement. With a sigh Locus stared pointedly at the sauce pan he was tending on the stove and resolved to ignore the noise. After a moment and a repeated buzz he sighed as he turned off the heat under his sauce, covered it and cleaned his hands before heading to the door to hit the answer button. There were too few people who knew where he lived to just brush it off without question, even in his down time. 

Locus gave himself a moment to drudge up the name of which of the building security personnel should be covering the front desk tonight and hit the answer button on the intercom. “Yes, David?”

“I'm sorry to bother you so late, sir, but I have some guests here asking to be let up to see you. A Miss...”

“Locus dear, it's Lily!” her voice chirped through the speaker and Locus had to bite his lip to hold back a groan. At least like this he could get away with rolling his eyes. How in the world had that damn woman figured out where he lived?

“I don't...” he started to say, only to be cut off. 

“Oh, and I brought your darling boyfriend with me,” she breezed and that made Locus pause, staring in disbelief at his intercom. 

Felix? 

He couldn't afford to hesitate if the story was going to hold up to any scrutiny—if Felix hadn't already blown it wide open—in case he ever chose to hire the escort again. 

The escort he hadn't seen in nearly two months. 

“Felix? Well, why didn't you say so, David? Send them up right away.”

With that he took his finger off of the intercom button and let himself curse loudly. Why had he never told Mrs. Johnson that he'd left Felix? The lie had been right there, had been so easy to fall back on, but the second he'd been in front of her, ready to offer it, it had died on his lips. Doyle had given him this self-satisfied grin when he'd come into the office the next day with news that he hadn't burned that bridge yet. Smiled at him that same way every time he asked and Locus hadn't don it yet. 

And now here he was not even remotely sure what was going to happen when Felix and Lily got to his door. Had Felix, free of any contract, cheerfully informed Lily of his actual line of work?

With a sigh Locus ran his fingers through his hair, cursing again when he realized that not only was his bun falling out, but his fingers had still been liberally coated in flour. No matter how careful he was with the flour he used for thickening his sauces, he always seemed to get it everywhere. It only took a brief glance at his reflection in the fridge to see the mess that he was. His hair really was falling loose, both his apron and the shirt he was wearing were dusted with flour, and that didn't begin to account for the floury hand print on his thigh or the smear of it on his cheek. He looked like a mess and he didn't have time to fix all of it. 

All he could think of as he tried to straighten himself up some was how much of a field day Felix was going to have with this. As his fingers worked to get his hair down and put back up a bit tighter he imagined how Felix would laugh when they managed to get rid of Lily so he could send the escort back to wherever she'd grabbed him from. 

Worse, he thought as he tore off the apron, tossing it into a corner of the room as his hands struggled to dust his shirt and pants off a bit, he was going to have to figure out a way to play this if Felix had, against all odds, _not_ given him up. Normally there was some brief time for them to talk, or some frame of a script Doyle had worked up to help them keep their lies straight. They didn't have that safety net this time, and Felix had never been in his apartment before, something which would be unlikely for a serious boyfriend. Well, if nothing else he was confident that Felix would take the place in stride quickly and act like he was familiar with it. Locus was going to have to find a way to quietly work in a brief floor plan into Felix's ear so the man could at least feign familiarity. Hopefully Lily wouldn't pick up on the suspicious lack of photos of him and Felix together as well. 

Worst of all... this was going to cost him an arm and a leg if Felix hadn't blown it. Locus could already see it.

* * * * * *

All Felix could do was try to keep up with everything. And by everything he clearly meant Lily as she pulled him first from her car, then through security—who actually lived in a building with doormen and a security desk that had okay visitors—and into the elevator beyond that. All Felix could really do was come along for the ride as he held the smallish blue bag that she had given him and said was for Locus, no peeking. Like he even cared what a woman for her got for Locus. It was probably something meant to 'lure' Locus away from him, and she probably got some sick pleasure from making him hold it while she knocked on Locus's penthouse apartment door and they waited for a response.

With a sigh Felix shifted a bit behind Lily, waiting for the door to open, and the second it did he looked at Locus with wide, pleading eyes and shrugged helplessly. 

“Hi Locus!” Lily waved cheerfully before lunching in for a hug that Locus managed to turn into a handshake by some magic that Felix couldn't follow. 

Of course Lily didn't wait for Locus to respond, just pushed past him into the apartment, babbling. 

“Look who I found lost around the mall? I through it would be a pleasant surprise if I brought Felix along. So... Surprise!” Through the door she looked back at them to watch them. 

And like that, Felix's attention was fully on Locus, and damn if he didn't nearly freeze to look at him. There was a flush to his cheeks that Felix had never seen before, a light dusting of something white all over the loose emerald button-up that brought out his eyes, and more white powdering Locus's hair. Felix found his eyes drawn to the faint hand print on Locus's thigh, found his hand aching to be there itself. 

Instead he smiled and leaned in to kiss Locus's cheek. “Surprise.” He carefully pulled back just enough to show off the bag in his hands. “She... got this for you. Not sure what it is, but I'll put it in your bedroom.”

He made sure to emphasize the word lightly as he stepped into the apartment, knowing Locus looked as confused as Felix himself felt. Still, he kept his attention on Locus, ignoring the background chatter from Lily as she wandered of toward what looked like the kitchen.

Locus, thankfully, didn't leave him hanging, making a small gesture away from Lily and toward another part of the apartment. Then there was a hand in his and Felix was being pulled in for a light, fleeting kiss. Or, at least, what Felix hoped looked like a kiss from Lily's point of view, because it was really Locus barely pressing their lips together while he whispered. 

“I'll get rid of her as quickly as I can so you can get on with your life.”

With that he was pulling away from Felix and moving toward the kitchen, his attention clearly on the more troublesome of his unexpected guests. Well, Felix assumed that he was the less troublesome guest, but really, it was all a matter of perspective, right? Still, he moved off quickly in the direction indicated as he listened to the conversation happening behind him. 

“Can I get you something to drink? No, Lily, please don't touch... That's cooking wine, nowhere near suitable for your discerning tastes. Please, just let me find something better.”

He had the worst luck, Felix sighed as he made his way through Locus's apartment. What were the odds, he wondered as he tried door after door, the first a closet, the second the bathroom, and finally he was walking into Locus's bedroom, slow and curious. He dropped the bag on the dressed by the door and let himself take a chance to poke around the room. What he found was something quite a bit like Locus's office, with it's black, steel and glass motif, but there was something more about it, something more personal. Maybe it wasn't fully decorated, but silk sheets that he ran his fingers over were a deep green, there were a few paintings on the walls, and even the personal touch of a few pictures on a bed side table featuring people that probably had to be family. 

There was an urge, an almost terrible urge, to mess up Locus's bed. He'd always considered the sort of people who made their bed to be the strangest. Felix mostly rolled out of bed every morning and left it how it was. What was the point of making something you were just going to sleep in anyway. Leave it Locus to be incredibly neat... not that he had been when they'd showed up. Felix thought about the white powder—flour maybe—in his hair and on his leg. 

Out of curiosity Felix gave himself a moment to poke around in Locus's closet and dresser, amusing himself over the lack of anything that wasn't suits, slacks and dress shirts, though in far more color than he'd expected to find. 

“I have great taste in men,” he sighed as he decided it was time to return to the sticky situation he'd gotten into so he could help Locus get rid of the woman. 

When he made it into the kitchen he found a scene that made his blood boil for half a second before he brushed it off. Lily stood far too close to Locus, almost cornering him against a counter as she laughed at something he said. Her fingers were toying suggestively around the neck of a bottle of some beverage or other, clearly intended to draw Locus's attention, not that Felix saw him look anywhere other than Lily's face. She was so close she was practically hanging off of Locus.

He should be jealous right, as a boyfriend? Felix cleared his throat and shot Lily a hard look. He didn't think about how easy it was to get so defensive. 

“So, sorry we didn't call ahead. Lily _insisted_ on surprising you.”

“Well, you were surprised, right Locus dear?” Lily asked. 

“Quite,” Locus agreed, voice betraying nothing as he stepped away from Lily, picking up a glass of soda from by the fridge and moving to Felix to press it into his hands, a fond smile on his lips. “I will admit I'm enjoying part of the surprise... I thought you were intent on shopping tonight, darling. Otherwise I would have invited you over myself.”

Felix moved to answer, only to find Locus moving away and waving his own question aside as if it wasn't important. “Look at me, sounding upset to have you here. Honestly, I find myself more than a little thankful to you, Lily, for giving me the unexpected pleasure of an evening with Felix. I'm quite shocked you ran into him, though. I didn't think you would be the sort to shop at something as pedestrian as a mall. Were the boutiques closed?”

Locus held back a sigh. He needed something, anything, to use to get rid of this damn woman, and honestly, Locus wasn't quite sure how to manage that. Dealing with Lily had never been his strong point. She was far too pushing, far too entitled, and Felix had been right the first night. She had only gotten worse since he'd brought Felix into the equation. The only thing worse than keeping him around, to be honest, would be 'dumping' him, giving Lily the space to think she could go after him with no barriers again.

But none of that was as important right now as getting rid of said woman. “Anyway, what brings you here, Lily? If it was anything business related I would assume it could have held until the meeting on Thursday.”

Lily scoffed and shook her head, “Could you believe that none of the places I go to had what I needed? A special perfume I saw and wanted and the _only_ place that still had it in stock was at the mall? Ugh. As for coming over I...”

Maybe she finished the thought, or maybe she trailed off. Whichever it was Locus couldn't be sure, because Felix had shifted closer to him, pitched his voice to a stage whisper, and looked up at Locus with an expression that could only be called endearing. “As long as you're not mad that I'm here, then it's okay.” 

Again there wasn't enough warning before Felix was leaning up and kissing him. 

Which in Felix's point of view made the most sense. It was more than clear to him that Lily didn't want to leave, and really, there was a relatively effective way to make sure that she did. One that found Felix setting his glass down on the counter as his hand came up into Locus's hair as he lingered in the kiss, his heart pounding in a way that made absolutely no sense. 

There was enough of a chance for him to appreciate the way that Lily looked away before Felix let himself take it further, ramp up the discomfort factor, or so he told himself. It was a lot better to think like that than to admit that he enjoyed the way his body pressed close and firmly against Locus's as his hands moved to frame Locus's face as they kissed. The contact was more, so much more, than they'd ever done but at the same time it was almost natural. Almost as if Felix had done this before, been here before, and the small sigh he let out against Locus's lips wasn't even remotely fake. He was, probably, enjoying the close contact more than he should, and for more reasons than how it was clearly making Lily uncomfortable. 

Locus just let himself follow Felix's lead at first, but by the time the other man's hands were on him his arms wrapped around Felix's hips to hold him in place. He hated himself for allowing that, for pressing firmly and even eagerly into the kiss, for getting so caught up in the contact for all that he understands why they're doing it. Or at least he assures himself that it has to be a move to get rid of Lily. Felix would only stoop to this level to get rid of her so he could go. Then again, hadn't Felix told him the last time they had been together that Locus was a good kisser? The very thought of that conversation almost prompted Locus to deepen the kiss, to let himself taste the other man, to prove that he could stand up to evaluation on that level as well.

Instead he waited until he could almost feel his pulse racing in his ears and started to worry that Felix might be able to feel it as well before he pulled back to breathe. Pulled back to look down at Felix through lidded eyes and said the first thing that he could come up with that might further the clear 'make Lily uncomfortable' goal Felix had set for them.

“Hello to you too, love. Strange, I seem to remember you telling me last night that you were sated enough for days. Did something change? Were you not satisfied enough? Should I try again?”

Felix laughed and took that chance to spare a glance at Lily, and the laugh was a little more genuine at the angry look she was shooting them. Really, what had she been expecting when she had brought him here? He was, after all, supposed to be Locus's serious boyfriend. 

“Oh, I was, but I had enough time to recover and maybe I want a repeat of last night, babe,” he responded, letting his thumb brush over Locus's cheek even as he made sure his voice would carry to Lily.

With that he moved in again, this time pulling Locus's head down gently to make the taller man easier to reach, and he allowed himself the indulgence of running his tongue over the seam of Locus's lips, waiting for them to part so he could take advantage to really kiss Locus for the first time. And wouldn't it be just like Locus to respond not only quickly, but skillfully enough to not quite make his legs weak. Felix, for what it was worth, found his fingers sliding up into Locus's hair to tangle there, letting him truly feel how soft and silken it was under his fingers. 

There was the sound of a glass, no, the glass bottle Lily had been holding being put down on a counter hard, and Felix broke away from Locus to see Lily crossing her arms. 

“Well, I guess you two are... busy,” she observed, and then she was in motion, walking past them just close enough that her shoulder managed to knock against Felix's as she made for the door. 

“See you Thursday,” Locus called after her, breathless from the way Felix had just kissed him. There was no small part of him that wished she hadn't chosen that moment to make her exit. Surely there was no greater sin in the world than interrupting a kiss like that one. Finally a chance to taste this man, and she'd cut it frustratingly short.

He hated her because he knew once she was through the door, this was going to be gone.

Once the door slammed behind her—what had she honestly expected, he hadn't exactly invited her here—Locus pulled away from Felix, licking his lips absently as he straightened his shirt. 

“I'm sorry for all of that. I wasn't even aware she knew where I lived. I assure you that you will be more than kindly compensated for this.”

Like that, the moment was gone. 

Felix just stared at Locus as he spoke, and frankly, he ignored what Locus was saying. He didn't plan on making Locus pay anyway. If anything it should be Lily that foot the bill for this, and he'd already made her pay in the immensely satisfying way she'd exited, and the looks she'd shot him. 

So he didn't respond. Not with words at least. Instead he just closed the distance between them again, grabbed a handful of Locus's shirt to pull him close, and kissed him again. It was less forceful, more hesitant, and maybe even bordering on nervous. This time there was no one to show off to, no appearances to keep up, no act to play his role in, and it wasn't a situation Felix let himself fall into often. No, this time when he kissed Locus it was because he just really wanted to kiss Locus again. 

Maybe there was something inside him that drove him forward to take something he had no right to, no reason to claim, but he didn't know what it was. What he knew was that if worst came to worst from this, well, it wasn't like they'd ever see each other again. 

This time it was simply Felix wanting his body pressed firmly against Locus's, wanting those lips just to have them, and it was really just him breaking his own rules. Never kiss a client unless you had to kiss them. Never do it off the clock. Never let it be anything more than an act. 

This time he thought it might just be worth it to press against Locus one last time. 

Locus found himself frozen for half a moment, shocked still by Felix's action, their lips pressed together again and not for show. No one to impress, no one to convince their connection was real. Then the moment was gone because even if this was going to cost him more, he couldn't say no. Felix just felt too perfect against him, with him. It felt right how his arms came up around Felix's waist to pull him close all over again. He reveled in the feel of those lips warm against his, of that body pressed fully against his, in the knowledge that on some level, Felix wanted this. 

This time it was Locus that let his tongue sweep over Felix's lips before he drew the lower one between his teeth to pull at it lightly. He let his teeth scrape over Felix's lip before catching it again between his own to suck lightly as the fingers of one hand came up to tangle in Felix's hair and grip it tightly. 

What was happening was so much better than any touch before, Felix decided as he half sighed, half gasped at Locus's reactions and eagerly opened himself to the offered kiss. His grip on Locus's shirt tightened as he pulled the other man harder against himself, meeting the kiss with every bit of fire he found running through his veins. While Locus's arm had been around him what seemed like hundreds of times and he knew what it felt like without even thinking, there was something different about it this time. Something more intimate, but really, was that a shock? 

They moved together until Felix found himself pinned between the counter and Locus's body, and god he liked that too. There had to be something said about being pressed up against something when it was Locus holding him there. Felix's hand untangles from Locus's shirt to move slowly down it, pressing and feeling through the fabric of his shirt to try and map out the shape of the other man's body. Meanwhile his lips pull away long enough for him to suck and nibble on Locus's bottom lip before rejoining the kiss, hungry and desperate this time because he just can't stop kissing Locus. He needed the contact, and bless Locus for giving it to him so willingly. Besides, it kept his lips occupied, kept him from speaking up and possibly ruining what was happening. No, better to make a small, whining sound against Locus's lips, an echo of all the feelings running through his body and head, and a weak plea for more. 

No man has any right to sound so beautiful and so desperately needy at the same time, Locus decided as he listened to the whine. Nor, to be honest, did any man have the right to be nearly so attractive as Felix was. Or to turn what had happened with Lily tonight into what was happening now. Yet somehow Felix was managing all of those things, and the only thing that Locus could do in response was just hold on. 

No. He could do more than that. He was already doing more than that with how the hand not in Felix's hair was sliding down his back, sweeping around, moving firmly down Felix's thigh and back up. And his lips were meeting Felix's with the kind of force that made him certain that Felix had to recognize his own desperation. Yet the other man was still there, and that was all the acceptance Locus needed to tighten his grip on Felix's hair to drag his neck back and to the side so Locus could let his lips ghost along the line of Felix's jaw, kissing and licking the perfect shape of it all the way back to his bare neck. 

The temptation to leave a mark, to bruise the beautifully soft skin, was almost overwhelming, but Locus held back. As much as he wanted Felix to look into a mirror and remember this moment for a while to come, doing so would only put him in an awkward position. In far too many ways Felix was merchandise, and damaging that always cost you. The last thing he needed was to find Felix blacklisting him for such a stupid, and easily avoided, mistake. But god did he want to. 

“Bed?” he asked, voice rough and hungry against Felix's neck as he licked over where he could feel the other man's pulse, racing like his. 

Asked and prayed that the quiet question didn't ruin the moment, because even with as prepared as he liked to be, there was no way he was letting this get much further in his kitchen. To his pleasant surprise Felix swallowed and nodded quickly, 

“Yeah, okay. _Please._ ”


	4. A Night Together

Together they fumble their way to the bedroom, the neat, pristine bedroom Felix had been admiring what felt like moments ago. They get through the door as Felix pulls Locus in for another kiss, desperate and hungry. The door shuts behind them and with a flick of Locus's hand the room is filled with a soft amber glow, the light of which Felix thinks makes Locus look even better. The way it catches in his hair, the way it looks on his skin, even the way it highlights the powder in Locus's hair that Felix runs his fingers through as they kiss is just amazing. He's a piece of art that Felix is going to get to touch. 

He's being pushed back toward the bed, his lips moving carefully over Locus's neck. Each point of contact is a light kiss or a careful lick, or teasing his teeth over the skin and holding back from the bites he desperately wants to litter his skin with. Locus pushes him and when Felix falls back toward the bed it's with him pulling Locus with him. For a moment they stay still together on the bed, his body covered with Locus's, and Felix closes his eyes, his senses overloaded with Locus. The scent of Locus surrounded him as much from the man above him as from the bed itself, the scent of an ocean breeze mixed faintly with herbs. He can feel Locus on top of him, his weight heavy as Locus shifts to straddle him, and it felt so good to have it pressing down onto him. He can still taste Locus on his tongue even as the other man leans down and kisses up and down his neck before their lips meet once more. 

Felix's hands are at Locus's shirt, pulling it loose from his pants and sliding up under it to drink in the feeling of his skin. His fingers stroke over Locus's skin, light but slowly gaining confidence with every second Locus doesn't pull away from him, until his palms rest flat along Locus's sides and twist to slide up the expanse of his back. 

Locus hums contentedly against Felix's lips as they kiss, and as much as he wants to touch Felix, his hands are moving instead to grab at his shirt. He breaks the kiss with his own disappointed sigh while he quickly unbuttons his own shirt and tears it off to toss aside. The smallest corner of his mind complains about the mess they're going to make, but he ignores it and leans back down to seize Felix's lips as his own hands press up under Felix's shirt. His fingers slide over Felix's skin, slow in their motion and his fingers spread and seeking as he drinks in the smooth, soft feel of Felix. There is nothing he wants more than to rip the fabric off and mark that chest, but that's too far. It's something he can't allow himself. Sex is one thing, rough sex another altogether. 

The kiss breaks yet again so Locus can lean down and kiss over the exposed skin of Felix's stomach, his fingers toying with Felix's nipples before he licks over the smooth skin of the other man's stomach. It draws a moan from Felix, soft and needy as his hands come up to tangle in Locus's hair, smoothing over it before his fingers reach up to work the tie out of his hair to let that beautiful, dark hair fall free to frame Locus's face and tickle over his chest. 

“Locus,” Felix sighs, breathes his name repeatedly into the room. Every last kiss Locus presses into his skin, no matter where, makes Felix shiver or moan his name. His fingers reach out and tug at Locus's hair, tangling his hands in it and dragging Locus up to kiss him quickly and whisper against his lips, his eyes half lidded and dazed. “I need you. Please, I need you _so bad_.”

“Right,” Locus groans, and for all that he's simply content to just taste the other man's body, he pulls away from Felix, smiles at the soft moan it draws from Felix. But damn, he didn't want to be away from the heat of Felix's skin. “Strip,” he orders as he gets off of Felix and circles the bed. Leave it to Felix to get him this worked up and then collapse on the wrong side of the large bed. So now, instead of getting to just reach for what he needs, getting to revel in the feel of Felix's skin against him, he has to circle to the far night stand. 

When he comes back with the lube and condoms he takes the chance to shed his pants and stare down at the picture of Felix's body stretched out on the bed below him. 

“God,” he finds himself whispering, “do you know how beautiful you are?”

“I've been told enough times to have a strong idea,” Felix smiles as he kicks off his pants and takes in the way Locus's eyes sweep eagerly over his body. “But you can tell me too.” There's no teasing edge in his voice because he wants to know, genuinely wants to know from Locus himself, exactly what he thinks. To know it without any acting between them.

Felix leans up and catches Locus's hand, pulling him back down onto the bed. They meet halfway in a kiss, soft and gentle that slowly turns into fire and desperate need. Felix's free hand moves to Locus's leg, slides eagerly up his thigh, then around to palm him, enjoying the quiet moan it draws from Locus's barely parted lips. Then his hand is under the waistband of Locus's boxers and he's stroking Locus's cock. He sighs when he feels it in his hand, moans at the way Locus's hips buck forward into his firm grip, and how when he thumbs the tip and finds his thumb moistened by the motion. 

“Fuck,” Felix breathes, closing his eyes and licking his lips as he lets himself feel Locus, stroking and squeezing. 

“You're...” Locus groans, biting his lip as Felix touches him. “Seems you might be... as skilled here as you are...”

Another stroke from Felix drives a moan from Locus's lips and he doubles over, one of his arms coming down to press next to Felix's head so he can brace himself up as he loops over Felix. The other drops the condom and lube that he had grabbed so that he can reach into Felix's boxers and stroke him as well. And dear god it is amazing to find Felix erect and eager for him. The whimper the touch drives from Felix is just divine. 

“So beautiful,” Locus chuckles, his voice low and hungry. 'I bet you make the best sounds. Do you moan and plead, Felix? If I stroke you, will you cry out for me?” And with that question he gives Felix two firm strokes just to see what it will get him. 

Felix does cry out, broken and strangled, and it makes Locus's blood burn, almost as much as the frantic way Felix worked the boxers down his legs. His eagerness is arousing on its own, but the way Felix looks reluctant to have to let Locus go to do so was even more than that. Then his hips were moving, thrusting up into Locus's hand, moaning louder. 

“Well,” Felix pants lightly, “you're not doing so bad yourself. I knew that if you kissed well... then you'd have to fuck well.”

He reaches for the fallen bottle of lube and bites his lip before he asks, “Do... you want to do the honors, or watch me?”

“I want to watch you,” Locus smirks, letting his fingers tighten around Felix, squeezing him between strokes. “I want to see how good you are at multitasking. Prepare yourself for me.”

With that he leans down to press his lips to Felix's chest, licking and kissing once again. Each touch was light, fleeting, always clearly engineered to amuse him without marking Felix. He can't mark Felix, wouldn't dare. But god does he want to leave bruises all over that beautiful, soft skin.

Felix allows himself a moment to gather himself, to enjoy Locus's attention before lightly pushing the hand on him away. He whimpers at the loss of the touch while he slicks his fingers. He pants and worries his bottom lip and lets his hand slide back to lightly tease at his hole. As much as he wants to, he doesn't let himself look up, doesn't meet Locus's eyes. The truth is that being here like this, spread naked and eager on Locus's bed, is almost too much. So he keeps his face down, his eyes closed, and slowly pushes just the tip of his middle finger into himself. 

His breath rushes out in a hiss and he lets himself take a deep breath before adjusting again. It's a slow process, trying to work himself lose and open with the attention on him in the form of lips on his chest, fingers scratching lightly over his skin or teasing at his hair, and pleased hums making music with his own breathing. A few teasing pushes in with just the tip, then he's pushing in slowly, head falling back as a soft moan escapes him with the full of his finger inside himself. Already his legs are restless, shifting between trying to hide his work from scrutiny and opening his legs wider as his pace starts to pick up and his body seems flush with warmth

“So beautiful,” Locus whispers as he watches, licking his lips and smiling. “Like a dream. “

With that he's reaching for the bottle of lube, and then he's slicking his own fingers. As much as he wants to watch, he can't hold back anymore. Those quiet sounds, those eager movements of his legs, the restless energy in his body, it's all too wonderful. It's far beyond anything he's imagined. But more than that, it feels wrong to have pleasure coming from anything, from anywhere, but from him. He reaches out, pulls Felix's hand back and his finger out of him, and Locus smiles. 

“You're too beautiful,” he grins, leaning in and nipping very lightly just below Felix's nipple. “I have to be the one driving those noises from you. Sorry.”

With that his slicked finger is pressing into Felix, thrusting in to him with a clear will. It drives another cry from Felix as he arcs up off of the bed and against Locus, lifting his hips to meet Locus's attentions. It's so much better than his own hand, which would have worked just fine and he had been more than happy to give Locus a show. But this, this was so good and Felix made sure to voice that in the form of soft moans and small, pleased sounds. 

He turns his head to the side to pant, moving with the way Locus's fingers moves in and out of him. Cries out when two fingers press in and with every thrust he wants more. Wants it to hurt and burn and fill him up. His breath is hard, all he can do is kiss Locus's neck mindlessly, caught up in his own pleasure.

“More,” Felix begs against Locus's neck. “God please... more.”

“You sure you want more?” Locus purrs, slowly adding in a third finger. For a while he just lets his fingers stretch and twist and spread Felix open. They curl and drag and thrust, seeking the spot inside Felix he knows will make Felix shout his name. That's what he wants more than anything. 

Locus wants his name to fall from those delicious lips. 

“Do you want me inside of you, Felix? Pushing in between your legs? Do you want your legs wrapped around my waist while I fuck you? Ask for it. Beg me. Beg me and I'll give you anything you ask for.”

The touches, the words, they drive another yell from Felix, both frustrated and turned on, and god does he love it. He loves Locus telling him to ask, to beg, to need. Loves the desperation in Locus's voice and the power it gives him in a way, even as Locus asks for the power to be given to him. It's amazing, and he drinks it in before he answers. 

“I do. I do want it. Want it so damn bad. Please, Locus, I can't come without your cock fucking me, filling me. _Please_!” The words are rushed, and more desperate with every syllable. 

“So beautiful,” Locus repeats again, chuckles really, as he pulls his fingers from Felix. His arms wrap around Felix's waist, lifts him to move Felix further back on the bed to make everything more comfortable for the both of them. Then he's got the condom, is working it onto himself with a quiet sigh of pleasure. Locus even allows himself a firm stroke and a whisper of Felix's name before he's moving between Felix's spread legs. 

“I want to hear my name from your beautiful, sweet lips when you come. Understand me?”

Not that he gives Felix a chance to process the question, because his hand is back around Felix's cock, stroking him as his arm still around Felix's waist lifts his hips from the bed to position him. Locus smiles down, loves the pleasure in his expression as he presses his own cock against Felix's hole before slowly starting to push into him. And dear god it takes so much to go slow, he needs Felix so much, has needed him since the end of that first meeting and he's only allowed himself it now. A mistake, he's sure he'll regret it, but here he is, and the pleasure is too important to pass up. 

The whimpers from Felix don't stop, just grow in frequency and pitch when Locus starts to push in. “Fuck, Locus, I'll say whatever you want me to, just _don't stop_.” 

Locus doesn't, neither of them do once they start to move. They dissolve into panting and moans, cries and pleas, chants of each others' names and gentle encouragements with teasing edges. Locus whispers his love of Felix's voice, admits his need of it. Felix meets that raw confession with his own whispers of how much he needed this, needed Locus. 

They are broken with moans as they set their pace. Felix's legs wrap around Locus, his hand around his own cock to stroke it. If there is a bit of honesty in his admission that he wants Locus with him, needs him here, needs to be with him and he's desperate and hungry and never stop, well that's his business. On the other hand, if Locus realizes that since the first night when he'd opened the limo door and found this beautiful asshole looking up at him he's wanted Felix below him moaning, Felix doesn't need to know. Felix will never admit that he enjoyed running his eyes over Locus's body that night, that there was something fun about the boredom Locus had with their encounters, and how fun even their attempts to needle each other were. Locus can't admit that the first time he said something remotely affectionate as part of their act he had spent a while figuring out what prompted it, because it hadn't been planned. 

There had been something in their first touch, and neither of them knows what to do with that any more than they know what to do with this. Felix is breaking every rule being like this with Locus. And Locus can't help but see the way his life is falling to ruins from the other man's presence in his life.

* * * * * *

In the end it wasn't tender. For all that they played at it in front of others, they never were soft with each other before this. So when they laid together, having spent themselves with each others' names on their lips, the question became what to do. A tiny voice in Locus's mind said he should do something: clean them up; kick Felix out of his bed before he gives in to the urge to press up against him; nuzzle Felix's neck; or leave a mark somewhere on that beautiful skin. He just needed to do something, anything that wasn't just him staring up at the ceiling and panting. 

“You keep exceeding expectations,” Locus noted, breathless. “I can see why you're so in demand.”

Felix laughed and ran a hand down his face, lying there weak and thoroughly satisfied. “Well honestly,” he finally answered, “I rarely, _rarely_ , have sex with any of my clients. I can count all the ones I have done on one hand, so...” 

With a shrug and a sigh he sat up slowly and looked around the room. Here at last was the awkward part. Well, the part he could make more awkward, by just giving in to his desires, the chief of which was rolling over and kissing Locus again, sweet and soft, and asking to be his exclusively. As it was, he didn't dare, he wanted to make the aftermath easy for them both. Because somewhere during the sex, or maybe in the moment after the orgasm finished dominating his body and mind, he had made a decision he refused to go back on.

“I should go,” he said at last and put on a smile, fake in every sense. “Don't worry. I won't charge you or something, it's not like we planned this. I'll just not visit the mall for a while to avoid Lily.”

His voice was filled with amusement, feigned and not as strained as it felt to him. Already he was on his feet, gathering up his clothes even though he knew he was still messy from their sex. There was a strange nausea in his stomach from how all of this hurt, how the decision hurt, and goddammit he wished it didn't. 

“You're welcome to shower here,” Locus offered, not ready to have Felix run off just yet. “I insist. I at least need to call you a car, and I wouldn't dare call a cab here. I'll need to arrange something else. And I won't take no for an answer, Felix.”

With that Locus rolled from the bed as well, stretching as he made for the dresser. “I also ask that you forgive me for inflicting Lily on your life. I am truly sorry for that.”

It was ridiculous, but Felix found himself holding his clothes over his crotch as he turned to look at Locus for a moment. 

“Okay, if you insist, _dear_ ,” he answered, trotting out the voice he always put on when he was acting with Locus. “Don't worry, Lily is nothing I can't handle.”

Felix did take up the offer, though. He had found the closet and bathroom earlier, figuring it was okay to grab a towel from one and use the guest bathroom to get clean. When he was in there with the door shut behind him he dropped his clothes to the floor. For a moment he just stared at himself in the mirror, let his mind replay what had happened. 

“Goddammit Felix, what did you get yourself into?” he mumbled to himself before turning his back on the mirror. 

All he wanted was a quick shower so he could get out of here. He didn't even allow himself much of a chance to snoop around, simply rinsing himself off with soap and water and standing under the spray for a few minutes, lost in thought. His ass was sore, but really, could he complain about that? That had pretty much been the best sex he'd had in a while, and he hadn't really lied to Locus about any of it. It wasn't like he hadn't had sex with more than a few people, but typically he went back to the same small group time after time. They were safe and familiar, knew each other well enough for the sex to be amazing without a risk of feelings developing. But usually it was just for the pleasure whereas what had just happened with Locus had been... something else. He wasn't even like the people he found himself with for under the table jobs. Those ones he didn't even care if he got off to so long as he got paid. And here he hadn't even let Locus pay. 

With a sigh Felix rolled his eyes, shut off the water, and got out. Once he was dried and dressed, towel folded and left on the counter, Felix made his way into the hall and wondered to himself what he was supposed to do. He found Locus sitting at the kitchen table back, his hair bone dry, and with the bag Lily's present had been in on the table before him. The exasperated look on his face was almost amusing. Beside the bag Felix noted not one, but two cell phones. One was a simple, boring black that screamed Locus, the other with a vibrant green case. 

“The car should be out front in five minutes,” Locus informed him without even bothering to look up. “It will take you wherever you desire. I'm covering the charge, of course, so I ask you not to decide to take a road-trip with it, mostly because I'm certain the driver is married.”

Locus pushed himself to standing and crossed his arms over his bare chest. Frankly he was glad to have opted to at least pull on a pair of sweats, because there was something strange about standing even half naked in front of a fully clothed Felix. It hadn't been like he needed to be dressed up this late at night, and he still needed a shower, but that didn't make something about the difference in their state of dress tense. Still, as he looked at Felix he wished he has asked to join him. To have had an excuse to hold that body against his a bit longer. To have given himself another chance ot kiss that beautiful neck, that lovely jaw, those perfect lips. He wanted to hold Felix against him and never let the man go. 

“Are you... curious as to what she bought me? Just for a laugh?”

That prompted a grin from Felix. 

“Sure. What _did_ the princess get you?” he asked and tried to keep his eyes on Locus's face. But god _damn_ the way Locus's skin fit over his muscles was as amazing under the brighter kitchen lights as they had been in the bedroom. He hated himself for looking, but he did move to the table and look at the pair of phones. “She bought you a cellphone?”

He snorted in derision as he looked at the green thing, shaking his head. “How much do you want to be that's rigged with a listening device so she can, like, listen to you while you sleep? Or preloaded with a bunch of creepy lovey-dovey text messages?” 

Felix picked the phone up and turned it over and over in his hands before holding it up close to his lips. “Testing. Lily, if you're listening, you're a cunt.” Then he dropped the thing back on the table and shook his head. “Can you believe she got this at the mall? For you? You clearly already have a phone. Hell, _I_ have a better phone than this. Definitely a listening device.”

“I doubt she'd come up with something like using a bugged phone to listen to me. There's no way I'd ever carry it around,” Locus pointed out with a sigh. “I'm going to agree with the crap love message route. I'm half worried that when I turn it on it's going to have an offer to use this as a way to contact each other for a secret love affair or something. She must have enjoyed giving it to me through you.”

With that he shook his head and shrugged. “Maybe I'll give it to Doyle to laugh over. Donald doesn't like Lily in the slightest. No matter what it is, he'll have fun with it.”

Locus kept his attention on the phone on the table, because it kept him from reaching out for Felix. Kept him from pulling Felix into his arms to kiss him, to beg him not to go. Instead he let his hand come up to scratch the back of his neck and then shook his head again. “I'm sorry about all of this. She messed up your evening, ruined my dinner, and...”

And now he had to end this because he was too addicted to Felix. Finally he was going to have to play the break-up card. It would have to be revised of course, but he would play it at last. He couldn't afford this sort of attachment to an escort of all people. But it did sadly mean that the parties were suddenly going to become a hundred times more tedious than they had been before Felix had come into his life. 

“I wouldn't even put it past her to be honest. A love affair... what a bitch.” Felix answered. At first he laughed, but in the end his voice ended up quietly bitter. Locus was supposed to be _his_ boyfriend, didn't she realize that? Of course he found himself quickly correcting his response. After all, it wasn't like they had ever actually been emotionally invested in each other. 

They were so far from _that_ that they weren't even touching the fact that they'd just had really amazing sex, well, in his opinion at least. So Felix just waved a hand to dismiss his previous words and Locus's apology. “Don't worry about it. I'm sorry she ruined _your_ night. I mean, I was just going to walk around the mall and get take out, so...” He shrugged. “This was, uh, way more exciting. And definitely satisfying.”

His voice ended flat and Felix nervously licked his suddenly dry lips. Luckily a buzz cut through the air, making Felix jump. Of course he quickly realized it was probably the car being annoyed, and he stood up a little straighter.

“Anyway...” he started, and trailed off. He'd sworn to himself not to make this awkward, and he intended to stick to that. “Uh, hopefully all of this blows over, you know? If anything you can, I don't know, cheat on me with her, right? Cause that'd be an easy way out. Just don't let her mom sweet talk you into anything.”

His knuckles rapped nervously on the table as he looked to the door. “I'll... see you around.”

The words were quieter, hesitant, and trailed off because there was something he wanted. Something he really, really wanted to do and he figured that if this really was the last time, well, then why not? He quickly leaned in and kissed Locus lightly one last time before backing away toward the door. 

“Felix,” Locus whispered when the other man pulled back from the chaste kiss. Then he bit back what he really wanted to say and nodded briefly to the escort. “If nothing else, I'm thankful she did find you. I enjoyed our evening together. Enjoy your ride.” 

With that he turned his back on Felix, scooped up the phone from Lily, and made for his trashcan. There was something in him that couldn't watch Felix go. So instead he unceremoniously dumped Lily's gift into the trash before moving to the stove and giving his attention to the ruins of his evening on the stove. It was easier, so much easier, than watching. 

He'd have to remind Doyle to forward Felix whatever lie they decided on, and a bonus for holding onto the lie if he ever did run into someone who recognized him for the wrong reasons. Another part of him wondered how he would replace Felix. Well, that he could leave to Doyle as well, his secretary never disappointed him. 

Felix turned around without another world and slipped from the apartment. When he was downstairs and in the limo he smiled at the driver and decided to actively engage the stranger in a conversation for the whole way back to his apartment. It was a nice exercise, and a welcome distraction, to try and make the driver laugh while they swapped stories that were entirely fake on Felix's part. But the driver seemed to enjoy the conversation, so really, mission successful. 

It wasn't until he got out of the car and pushed through the doors of his building that he realized with a heavy heart that this had probably been the last time he would have anything to do with Locus. Really, he should be fine with that. Completely comfortable with the fact that the last he had seen of Locus was the other man turning his back on him to go about his life. Yet when he entered his apartment, shutting the door behind him and standing there in the dark, he was still frowning and aching. 

No. Felix shook his head and decided that even if he could still feel the way Locus tasted, smell the scent of his sheets all around him, feel those hands on his skin, it was only because he was tired. It was late and he hadn't eaten all day. It was fatigue and nothing else. And the best thing he could do was just go to bed. So he shed his clothes on the way to his bedroom, not caring about the mess, actually almost reveling in it. By the time he collapsed onto his mattress he was naked and angry, and that made the fact that he was alone hurt less. Still, before he went to sleep he found himself swearing that the second he woke up in the morning he was going to head into the Dolce offices. There were things he had to do. 

Things that started with him asking the scheduler to have any of Locus's future appointments diverted to another escort, would continue to a personal blacklisting of him to keep Locus from contacting him, and ultimately land him in Kimball's office. He needed time off, desperately. Three weeks should do it, and he had plenty of vacation stored up. He just wanted to get off planet for a while, recharge and refresh himself. Come back better than before. Come back clean and without the name Locus Castille ringing through his mind. 

Because he couldn't keep doing this. He knew exactly what was wrong with him, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself. 

Still, he found himself hoping the time and distance would cure him.


	5. A Unique Engagement

“Dude, welcome back.”

The grin Tucker wore was was at least five different types of smug, which was actually quite an impressive number for him to pull off, if Felix was being honest with himself. More than that, Felix couldn't help but note the lack of his normal type of smug, which had a a sexual edge to it. No, these smug tones ranged from amused to curious and into right out pleased. Felix could do nothing more than stare at Tucker in confusion. 

“You miss me?” Felix asked, hands on his hips as he stared at the other escort stretched out on one of the couches in the waiting room. The silk shirt and dark slacks he was wearing screamed that Tucker had a job to be on, but the casual air and the sleepy drawl to his voice said that Tucker had been there for hours, waiting. 

Of course he had given Tucker his return date when he'd gone off planet for his vacation, someone had to check on his apartment for him, but he hadn't expected to find the other man waiting here for him. 

“Naw, not even for a minute,” Tucker answered, the lie smooth enough that Felix smiled and shook his head. 

“You're getting better,” Felix laughed, shaking his head. “Keep it up and you might be able to fake it enough to get hired more.”

“Dude, I'm exactly what ladies want, so I'm already good,” Tucker grinned, sitting up and patting the couch beside him to offer the space to Felix. “I got to pick up some of your slack while you were out of town. Hope you don't mind, but I lured Tiffany away from you permanently this time.”

“You're welcome to her,” Felix groaned, plopping down onto the couch and rolling his eyes. “I was getting bored with her stupid friends.”

“Yeah, they are pretty bad, but the girl sure knows how to please,” Tucker answered.

“Excuse me if I really don't want to think about you and Tiffany,” Felix sighed, leaning back on the couch. “So why are you here when you're clearly off duty?”

“Waiting for you to come in, man. So much gossip to catch you up on, and I figured you were due in too pick up your new schedule,” Tucker smirked, and there was something in it that said he was sitting on a tasty piece of gossip. 

“Fine, what is it that you've got?” Felix asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “What is the amazing little bit of irrelevant information that you're eagerly waiting to tell me?”

“Your high roller is on Kimball's last nerves,” Tucker smiled, and Felix was certain at least part of it had to do with his own shocked reaction. 

“High ro...”

“That Castille guy,” Tucker grinned even wider. “Oh, speaking of? Kimball wanted me to tell you she wanted to see you the second you got in. There, I told you.”

“I hate you,” Felix sighed as he got to his feet. “I'm so not giving you the souvenir I got you.”

“You got me something while you were on vacation?” Tucker asked excitedly. 

“No,” Felix grinned as he headed toward Kimball's office. “Really Tucker, you've got so far to go until you're on my level.”

Once he was away from Tucker, knew that he was going to be seen, Felix let himself deflate. He'd been gone for so long just to get away from the cloud hanging around him. A cloud with beautiful hair and skin that had tasted faintly of cinnamon and... 

No. No, he was _not_ thinking about that right now. Three weeks away from the planet had done wonders for him. No thoughts of silken hair or lips that burned like... 

Again and again his head cycled back around to the thing he was trying to avoid. Back to the thoughts he shouldn't have. That he'd run to escape from. He still remembered the way Locus had whispered his name, the way that he had moaned for the other man, how good it had felt to have the other man touch him and not be doing it just to sell a story. That had been why he had gone. That had been why he had blacklisted Locus as a client. That was why the man should definitely not be part of his life anymore. Had he not gotten the rather blatant message when he'd tried to reserve Felix for a job that he was banned from further contracts, oh and as a consolation here was a nice short list of suitable replacements that shared either physical, intellectual, or behavioral characteristics with Felix who would be able to take over the job? What did it take to drive this man away short of blackballing him from the whole god damn business?

Felix didn't even look at Andersmith as he shuffled past the desk toward Kimball's office. What was the point? If Kimball was looking for him then Andersmith knew it, and he'd buzz Felix through. And if she wasn't free, well then Felix would go in anyway. Not like there weren't privileges to being her top earner. Of course, part of the problem was the fact that it was his position and the kind of fees he could demand that made the Locus thing such a... well, thing. If it was anyone else the blacklist would have held with no question, no hesitation, no problems. But no, it just had to be him that the fucking wealthy bastard had set his teeth into. 

No, a tiny voice in the back of Felix's head reminded him. Locus _hadn't_ set his teeth into Felix, as much as he'd wanted it. The man had known without asking one of the few rules Felix made for anyone that came into his bed. Don't damage the merchandise. Problem was, he was pretty sure that the only reason that Locus hadn't needed to be told was because that was all the other man thought of him as. A person to be bought and who was gladly selling himself. Well no, Felix was going to prove him wrong. He wasn't going to give in to whatever Locus wanted with all of this. No way, no how. 

He pushed through the doors, hard, delighted in the way they shot open before the force of his hands. The sound of them slamming filled the small but lavish office, and Felix grinned as it led to the gorgeous, dark skinned woman sitting at the desk to look up. The look in her pale blue eyes was almost murderous, her lips pressed together into a thin line as she leans back in her chair and glared at Felix, her hands coming together before her to interlace in her lap as her legs crossed before her. Not for the first time Felix was forced to admire how beautiful and powerful Kimball looked, how self-confident and utterly bored with him. Of course, he didn't let that respect hold him back from flopping down in a chair and putting his feet up on the desk. 

“Felix,” Kimball sighed, annoyance and disapproval as prevalent in her voice as greeting. “About time you got back.”

“Hey, you know exactly how long I was going to be gone,” Felix shrugged, ignoring her pointed look at his shoes. “Tucker said you were looking for me.”

“Looking for is not exactly the most precise way to describe the situation,” she answered, leaning forward and sighing. “We need to talk about Locus Castille.”

“I cannot even begin to imagine why,” Felix sighed this time, crossing his arms over his chest and refusing to meet her gaze. “I blacklisted him. He's so not an issue anymore.”

“He's offered us three times your standard rate for two hours.”

Felix was out of his seat and leaning forward to stare at her. “What!?”

“Exactly. This man that you seem to have gotten the attention of is one of the wealthiest people on the planet, Felix. He could buy and sell Dolce three times over if he wanted to just from his pocket change. And I'm only exaggerating a little here. We need to figure out how we're going to handle this situation,” she answered, voice rationally calm to the point where Felix couldn't help but think she'd been rehearsing this for weeks while he had been gone. “Any suggestions?”

Felix just smirked, shaking his head. “Charge him four times my going rate. If he says yes, then damn, we're both rolling in it, and I was looking to get a new tv for my room. If he says no, then he's out of our hair. And sign him into a hefty NDA because you don't want other clients thinking they can buy their way out of the blacklist.”

He watched as Kimball leaned back in her seat once more, expression gone pensive. “That just might work, Felix. And you'd be okay with such an arrangement?”

“I'm the one who's worked with him. Trust me, Kimball, he's not going to waste that much money on an hour of my time.”

* * * * * *

Locus paced back and forth in front of his desk, wondering how he had gotten himself here. He had only ever intended this to be a thing to keep Lily off of his back for a while and now here he was, waiting for a meeting with Felix that almost made no sense and that he was paying four times Felix's normal hourly rate just to put forward the initial suggestion of what he needed from the escort. The escort that had, according to Doyle, blacklisted him. The man that had banned him from future engagements. 

Yet here he was, waiting for Felix, pacing in his office and trying to figure out just what had happened. How had he gotten to this place? To this point? To pacing in his office with a folder behind him, the promise of money beside him, and a small velvet box.

A low buzz from the intercom was all the warning he had before the doors to his office burst open with some force. Leave it to Felix to make it a show. He was an actor, and Locus... he was starting to understand that. Starting to understand the way Felix had always carried himself, confident and powerful. Felix knew that when he was hired, it was to have all eyes on him, and god did he sell a beautiful lie. Even now Locus found himself caught up in the show Felix was putting on. There was something in the choice of the charcoal gray shirt, the bright orange tie, and dear god his hair. It wasn't styled back the way it had been on their jobs, but left short and free falling, just like it had been when they had...

No, that wasn't what this was about. This was yet another business transaction, and if Felix wanted to put on a show, wanted Locus's eyes on him, well, that was his business. It wasn't like Locus wouldn't have watched him anyway. There was nothing he could do but watch Felix. The way he all but sauntered to the couch and threw himself down on it. The way his slacks fit his legs so well, and his belt clung to his hips. The way those lips curved in a pleased fashion as he stared at Locus staring at him. He was the beauty that Locus couldn't stop watching, and damn it was almost like Felix knew it. 

“Well, I'm here. What the hell do you want? Oh, tick-tock, you've got a short window to work in here. On the clock you know. Hurry up,” Felix called, his voice filled with a sing-song quality. “You've sure paid a lot just to listen to me talk. Unless that's what you want. Tell me, do you get off on the sound of my voice?”

“You're right,” Locus found himself agreeing. “There is a time limit, so I will get to the purpose of our meeting. You remember Mrs. Johnson, correct?”

“Oh god,” Felix groaned, throwing his head back and flinging his arm over his eyes. “Not this bullshit again.”

“She's one of the primary backers for my work,” Locus continued as if he wasn't interrupted at all. “Without her I'd have to rely solely on my own capital to get work done while dealing with courting new revenue streams. While I can do my work without her, it is preferable to maintain our professional relationship. I have to keep in her good graces. And... you know how she likes you.”

“She likes you too,” Felix countered, sitting up and glaring at him. “God, you're supposed to be smart. Or your secretary is. You can handle this bullshit on your own.”

“I tried to tell her we broke up,” Locus sighed, biting his lip and shaking his head. “Every time I started to, she deflected. It was almost as if believing hard enough would make it go away. I tried to keep you out of this, but I have a major project I cannot get off the ground without great risk to my company unless I have her support. Her financial as well as political support. And she won't let me near her at parties anymore. Joyce has been avoiding me since you left.”

Lily, of course, had been a different matter altogether. 

“So what do you want from me? To get you close enough to get a single job done?” Felix asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can do that. We can just do another...”

“It's a bit more complicated than that,” Locus cut him off, turning back and reaching behind him for the box. “We've come up with a story that can help cover things, if you're willing to work with me, one last time. Unfortunately...” he tossed the box at Felix, and honestly, he couldn't help but smirk at the wide eyed disbelief in the look Felix shot him. “This is the way to do it.”

He watched as Felix stared at the ring box, stared down at it and slowly opened it, and Locus did his best not to sigh at the way the man's eyes went wide. Locus knew what he was looking at. Even if this was business, there was something about this whole thing that was still slightly personal. The whole thing had to be believable, and so Locus had gone out ring shopping with Doyle. To find something he thought he might get if he was interested in ever proposing to anyone. Something that he wouldn't mind wearing a mate to. Which meant a simple platinum band that Felix had to be staring down at now and processing how much he could sell it for, or something. 

“You're fucking kidding me,” Felix whispered, staring down at the ring. 

“I assure you, I'm not,” Locus deadpanned when Felix looked up at him at last. “I can use this to sell Mrs. Johnson on the idea that you have been away for a while dealing with family matters related to our pending nuptials. When the deal has gone through there will be a 'convenient' incident which will remove you from my life. I believe finding you cheating on me would make for the best story. Scandal to be fed upon by the upper echelons without resulting in scandal that would affect your normal life or work.”

There was silence for a while between them, Felix looking back down at the ring box, and Locus just looking at him. At last Felix sighed and shook his head, closing the box and gripping it in his hand. 

“Alright. Strictly business. We'll get you your damn contracts with Mrs. Johnson, I'll get my money, and I'll go home, order a pizza, and bathe in the vast sums of money you're going to be me in. And I'm keeping the ring. This baby is worth something.”

“Agreed,” Locus nodded without hesitation. He'd already written the thing off as cost of operating. “There is an upcoming affair, black tie, that I'll need you to appear at. I have already sent the date and time to Miss Kimball for verification on the off chance this meeting went well. Unfortunately, it is a black tie affair. This means you will be expected, especially in your role as my fiance, to come dressed better than you have in the past.”

“Hey, my suits are perfectly...” Felix started to protest. 

“Perfectly fine for a normal situation, which this is not,” Locus pointed out. “This is _not_ a normal situation. I will also be reserving you for a few hours before the event, where a car will deliver you to a fitting. You'll be having a custom suit made for this. No complaints.”

“Oh come on,” Felix whined anyway. 

“And you'll have homework,” Locus continued, turning back to grab the folder off of his desk. He could just stand there and wait, make Felix come and take the folder from him, but he knew that if he waited, Felix would have him standing there for the rest of their hour. So with a sigh he crossed to Felix and thrust the folder out for him. “You'll need to know what's in here. I'm sure you can handle that.”

“I can handle a lot of things,” Felix countered, and Locus bit the inside of his lip to keep from making a smart comment in response. Felix wanted a rise out of him, and Locus didn't intend to give it to him. “That all?”

“I suppose it is,” Locus agreed. “You will, of course, be paid for the full hour.”

That earned him a shrug in response. “Yeah. Whatever. You need me and it's fucking pathetic. But I'll get the job done. I'm a _professional_. You won't even have to pay me for the time needed for the suit if I can keep that.”

“Of course. You can speak with Doyle on your way out to arrange for your fitting.”

He watched as Felix sat up a bit straighter, his lips parting just enough to look like he was about to protest. And Locus, despite himself, couldn't help but stare at them. They were as beautiful now as they had been the last time he had seen them. No, maybe that wasn't entirely true. The last time Locus had seen Felix those lips had been red and just short of kiss swollen. It was an image he had to get out of his mind. 

“Wow, done with me so soon?” Felix asked at last, smirking widely. “It's okay. Some people must don't know how to pace themselves.”

Locus just sighed and circled around his desk to sit down in his chair. “You're still being paid for your time. Do with it what you will.”

“Whatever,” Felix shrugged and Locus didn't look up when he heard feet moving over the floor until he heard the office doors close. 

At least he had some courtesy. 

* * * * * *

It was just one more job. All it took was the fitting of a suit—far higher quality than any Felix had ever worn before and damn he looked good in it—the wearing of a ring, and the reciting of some story Doyle had made up for them. It was simple. There was absolutely no reason he should have any problems with a job like this, especially at the rates Locus was paying. Actually, that made Felix stop and think for a moment. With how much Locus was clearly willing to sink into this single engagement, Felix couldn't help but wonder just how much money was really riding on what was expected of him. Had to be high six figures at the absolute minimum, and honestly, he thought it was more likely to be something with at least seven zeroes tacked onto the end. But he didn't complain: he'd walked into this job himself and the contract that Kimball had worked out with Locus's people had been firm enough that backing out hadn't even been a possibility. 

When the car showed up Locus wasn't there. Of course, Locus never was when Felix got picked up. It was as if the man hated being seen with him for more than whatever time he bought Felix for. Yes, that had to be what it was. That night in Locus's apartment had been an anomaly. A situation that had arisen from convenience and the heated kisses they had been forced to give each other to get Lily out of their hair. This was just another business transaction and the limo being empty save a folder reminding him of the salient details for the night—including how the proposal had gone down—and a single paper card promising him a bonus of another third of his usual rate for civil behavior did more than make Locus's opinions of him clear. This was just business. Just a contract that he had to fulfill and then it would be over. 

Felix kept telling himself that over and again until it started to stick. 

The worst part was the fact that the driver wasn't even remotely chatty. Felix never even saw his face except when the limo arrived and the guy held the door open for him. The separator between the front and back had been closed when he'd climbed into the car, and really, he couldn't find it in himself to hit the button to lower it, not even a bit. All there was to do was review the file, down one of the shitty wine coolers in the back—Locus could have at least provided something that took the edge off better—and toy with the ring he had to wear for the job. The ring that had, of course, fit perfectly. 

Don't think about it, he told himself every time he caught himself playing with the ring. When he got there is soon enough. The act starts when the door opens. Enjoy your down time now. He could act civil in front of people other than Mrs. Johnson. Hell, he could probably even be civil to Lily, if a bit curt. And when he got home, after dropping off the proper cut of the bonus at the office, he would just lay out his bonus money and maybe roll around in it. Just because he could. 

It was only one night. He could handle that. He could jump through this hoop and ignore where it had gotten him last time for just one night. Just one more night. Get the meeting with Mrs. Johnson set up and that would be it. He would be done with this, and with Locus, forever. 

When the limo stopped he took a chance to breathe. When the door opened and a hand was extended to him, he just placed his lightly in it and let Locus help him out of the car. Turned on the charm as Locus closed the door and gave Felix his arm, dressed to the nines with his hair perfectly arranged for once. Go figure Locus would finally start making the effort when, to Felix, it mattered the least. 

Just turn on the charm, he told himself. Be the sappy asshole who would date this kind of man. Be the story. Be the show. One night only, center stage, Felix woos the audiences out of their money, every last eye on him. One night only. Don't blink or you'll miss it.

* * * * * *

In his defense, it was really supposed to be one last job. One night only and then gone. No more tickets, no more shows, no more anything. 

In his defense he hadn't expected Kimball to call him into the office two months later with another outrageous promised sum and a phone number to let him deal with it. In his defense he had thought when he got on the phone with Locus's office he would only get Doyle or something. In his defense he hadn't expected the number to be Castille's personal line or for Locus to sound so tired and strained. In his defense he hadn't meant to do it again. 

Or again a month after that. 

Or again two months after that. 

In his defense it really was supposed to be one last job. 

Except there he was sitting in a limo across from Locus staring at the briefing as they were driven to one of the larger mansions outside of the city for a personal party thrown by the Johnsons at their personal estates. Sitting there with the folder open in front of him and Locus toying with a band of metal on his own finger and looking displeased. 

“So... run this by me again,” Felix sighed, voice firm and sounding way more patient than he really felt. “You said _what_ to her? Or them.? Or everyone?”

Attempt to sound calm: failed. 

“As I was saying,” Locus sighed, sounding put upon, you know, more so than Felix already was with the escalation of their fake relationship that hadn't supposed to continue after that night in Locus's apartment, “my last business meeting with Joyce ended with her questioning when our wedding would be. From her point of view we have been involved for quite a while now. I... was caught off guard and informed her that we had... Well, I suppose the proper phrase would be tied the knot. Of course that's all in the summary as usual. So play the game or forfeit your payment.”

“God, what the hell, man?” Felix groaned, tossing the folder aside. “This is ridiculous.” 

But the money, five times his going rate, had been too much to pass up. Dammit, why did the lie keep getting bigger? It was almost as if Locus was trying to keep him close. “Okay. I'll be your fake husband but... is it really her business to ask you these things? I don't care how much she likes me, I'm feeling pressured by a wealthy old woman to take my fake relationship too fast!”

Locus just sighed and shook his head. “Since you clearly weren't paying enough attention to Doyle's briefing, we were married last month in a private ceremony at my summer home on the islands. It was very tasteful. All of the details are there, I suggest you learn them.”

“Yeah,” Felix shook his head. “You know, I'm not sure there is actually an amount of money that makes being your husband worthwhile.”

“Well then you will be content to know that Mrs. Johnson's health has been in decline. I hardly expect she will last the next few months. At that point my attention would be better spent working on Lily, but I much rather work with Joyce,” Locus provided. “When Joyce passes I believe I will find as quick of an excuse for a divorce as possible.”

“Oh come on,” Felix grumbled under his breath, “now I gotta wish a quick death on her too. That's bullshit.” He sighed and resisted the urge to toy with the ring he was wearing again. “Fine, whatever. I'll agree to keep this charade of yours up until Lily takes over. Oh, and fuck her by the way, just to say it.”

He grabbed the folder back up and started flipping through Doyle's briefing. This just wasn't fair. How had he gotten himself pulled into this, again? All he had wanted to do was lead a simple life. Make some money using his looks in a way that wouldn't require him to sleep with random strangers. It had gone so well before Locus had become a part of his life. 

At least the pay was worth it. 

“Please don't agitate Lily too much,” Locus said as Felix flipped through the file. “Her personal wealth will be such that after her mother dies it would be most responsible for me to finally give in to what Lily wants and court her. I would rather not start that by repairing damage you've done.”

“Don't worry,” Felix smirked, “as Joyce says, I'm the _perfect_ man. The man she wishes all men would strive to be like, or some flowery bullshit. So have some faith. Other than jealousy and the sniping we give each other over that, I haven't failed you so far with Lily. And hey... it could be worse. You could have shit taste. I mean, just look at me. Nice suit, nice ring, damn sexy man...”

“Well, I would have selected the ring for you, would I not?” Locus answered easily, and there was something in the way that he said it that made Felix look up and stare at his face. To be honest, the other man had been getting better at their act, to the point where Felix was having trouble picking apart what was genuine and what was Locus putting on the role early. 

Except, no, it was all an act, wasn't it? Any part of it that wasn't was just an echo of the residual feelings he clearly never had toward Locus at all. So not even residual, right? 

It was a question Locus was asking himself at that moment as he toyed with his own ring. “The usual bonus is, of course, being offered. This time the stipulation is on overt displays of affection. We need to sell the newlywed feeling.”

“I knew, I _knew_ the first time I got in a car to meet you that this was a mistake,” he listened to Felix grumble as his hands came up to rub his face. “Should have just foisted you on Tucker. Of course, if you got him you'd be so bankrupt right now.” 

Locus didn't watch him, he just returned his attention to the ring he wore, twisting and twisting it on his finger. The weight on his hand was strange, but when he looked at Felix it felt almost... No, that wasn't a thought he as going to allow himself. There was nothing good that could come of that thought. Too many things like that had led to here, and he didn't want to have this anymore. 

“I'll be the picture perfect husband,” Felix sighed at length. “You know I can see you playing with it, right? At least show me what ring I supposedly got for you.”

It took Locus a moment to willingly extend his hand for Felix's inspection. “We opted for matching bands because I'm sentimental. I wanted to share something with you. And I do believe we won't have to sustain this much longer. This could well be the final time I am forced to call upon your services.”

The words ached in his chest and Locus knew well why. What was the point in questioning it? Maybe he found himself caught in these situations that forced him to drag Felix back into his life because, well, he just wanted an excuse to see Felix. 

But no, this was just business. That was all they had ever been, except for one brief evening of shared pleasure. That distinction was what kept Locus going when they arrived at the party. This was just another business deal, just like the conversations with Joyce and Lily. Just like any day at the office. Just like any other time. They work together well, something Locus can't help but notice. 

They work together too well. There was something about the way that Felix moved. The way his hand always found its way onto Locus—his arm, his shoulder, his back, his face—that just distracted Locus. Something about the tender statements of love that Felix made sure to whisper loud enough for others to hear. Something about the way their hands fit together, or Felix kissed his cheek, or the softly fond way he spoke about the wedding that had never happened...

It left Locus distracted. Left him far from the mental place he needed to be in to handle the excited energy from Joyce. Left him far from ready to handle the way Lily sniped at Felix. Left him way too far from ready when Joyce complained that Locus never threw any parties and hadn't even had the decency to invite her to the wedding. 

The look Felix gave him when they walked away from their hostess was so violent that Locus almost thought the other man would throttle him. Not that he could blame Felix as promised him an extra bonus for his efforts to stop what Joyce had talked him into. After all, he hadn't wanted to have a dinner party at his summer home. 

Felix, through some miracle, held his tongue until Locus could politely excuse them from the party. Even managed to keep silent until they had settled into the back of the limo. Once the door was closed, though... 

“What the fuck was that?” Felix groaned, rolling his eyes as he flopped across the back seat of the limo and glared up at the roof of the car. 

“I'm sorry,” Locus sighed, reaching for one of the bottles of wine and the cork screw. He needed a drink. “Your extra bonus will be delivered by tomorrow night, and I will come up with some excuse for you not to be present for the party. Maybe going to visit your parents or something.”

“How would this party, theoretically, work?” Felix asked, and Locus just paused, halfway into sinking the screw into the cork. 

“Well, since I offered up my summer home there is a lengthy travel element. As such a single evening would require me to be there early. There would be at least the day before for set-up, the day of for the party itself, and then remaining overnight before returning.”

“So two days,” Felix mused, and there was a level of consideration to it that found Locus putting his bottle aside. “I'll do it. Free.”

There was no way in the world that Locus was hearing what he thought he was hearing. Felix readily offering himself up for a job? And doing it for free? That... that wasn't even possible. 

“I'll do this... dinner thing with you. You've got to keep in Joyce's good graces, right? Especially if you plan on courting her daughter when this all said and done. Oh, and just so you know, gross on that one. Anyway, if Joyce says jump, we say 'how high ma'am,' like we always have. So I'll do this for you, but you'll owe me. And not money this time. Just...” Felix went quiet for a long moment and then nodded. “If I need a favor, you do it. Two actually. Two days, two favors. Deal?”

All Locus could do was stare at Felix. Not even briefly. He stared for a while, just trying to fathom Felix's offer. “This... is not a partnership, Felix. My maintaining good relations with the Johnsons is my business. It isn't your concern unless you're being paid for it to be such. In fact, my ultimate intentions on a partnership with Lily is not your concern either, save that you keep behaved. So I cannot begin to fathom why you would agree to spending two days with me when you can barely handle two hours, even paid.”

“Look,” Felix sighed, pushing up so he was seated and staring across the space at Locus, “you can pretty much buy me, right? Like literally, despite my reservations, you buy my time. But say _I_ need someone or something that I can't buy. Think about it, Locus. You and the security you have, no money that you or anyone else can throw at me can buy that. So sometimes, when you think about it, favors can be priceless. Thus, if I do this 'favor' for you, you owe me a favor in return. Deal or what?”

“Deal,” Locus found himself saying before he could really think about it. “I'll... have Doyle send you the detail when they're arranged. I hope you have no problem with flying. Or boats. I will, of course, cover all expenses. You will only be expected to participate in this farce of a dinner, but I'll need you for that full day before to let you familiarize yourself with the place. Our story won't fly if you get lost in a place you're supposed to be comfortable with.”

“Right,” Felix agreed, reaching across the space between them to shake Locus's hand. “But after this, I swear to god... no more of this. No dinner parties, no outings, none of that bullshit, got it?”

“Agreed,” Locus said firmly, trying to force that concept into his mind. After this, no more Felix. He'd have to keep himself from it no matter the temptation. 

“Pictures.”

Locus looked up from his thoughts abruptly, and was met with an annoyed shake of Felix's head. 

“Pictures?” Locus repeated. “Joyce didn't ask for...”

“Wow you're an idiot,” Felix sighed, shaking his head and putting his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his seat. “We're supposed to be cozy at your... what was it? House thing? It's informal, right? Well, I mean, I'm assuming that it is informal and all of that and not straight out business related. You're not going to be talking business deals the whole time, right? So she's clearly going to expect to see pictures in between talking numbers and who to fire next. If this is supposed to be a real relationship, there would be pictures.”

“It isn't informal,” Locus shook his head. How had Felix been working with him this long without understanding. “It will be a dinner party. It would be much like the parties I take you to, only with less people, more intimate, and it would be hosted by us. That being said... I suppose you're right. At the very least, there should be some sign of a connection between us. We've been 'together' long enough for there to be pictures, trinkets, small things.” 

He sighed and shook his head again, burying his face in his hands for a while. “If you can provide me with photographs of you I know someone who can create photographs of quality to have as decorations here and there.”

“I'll send you or Doyle or whoever an e-mail,” Felix answered flatly. “You know, I've gotta ask... when you asked for me, did you see any of this happening? We're talking about _the_ longest engagement I've ever been in, and the most money a client has ever thrown at me. And I've had plenty of clients working with me for longer.” 

Felix shook his head and looked away, out through the window Locus guessed, not that there was much to see. “You know what? Never mind. If anything else you need me to know comes up, you know how to reach me. I'm just gonna wow the fuck out of your guests.”

“When this started...” Locus said softly, and he was shocked to see Felix's eyes on him immediately. “When this started, I intended to use no single escort for more than several engagements. I didn't want to seem too... set in my desires. If things got too serious I would lose my desirability for mutually beneficial business arrangements in some ways. And then you... turned out to be more entertaining than I expected.”

“Yeah, well, I am amazing,” Felix smirked and looked away again. “You're lucky you got me I guess. I mean, you're good at the sort of stuff you do but me? I'm there to make you look less lonely and pathetic. You know, make you look good.”

“And you're highly successful at that,” Locus found himself laughing bitterly. More than successful. Felix managed to make him feel it as much as he made him look it to others. “Regardless, the sooner this mess is behind us both, the better. You've cost me far more than I would normally allot for wining and dining prospective backers.”

There was a brief look that flashed across Felix's face that might have been guilt, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “Yeah... well... I never said I was cheap. You could have just stopped, you know. You could have told her that we didn't work out.”

“I tried that, remember?” Locus sighed, shaking his head. “Didn't take. And in ways you are worth more than I have paid you. I just had not entirely expected to need someone of your... specialization for so long. Not that you have not made evenings like this better.”

“I live to entertain,” Felix grinned. “Literally. It's good to know that I'm on my game even at this level. So... that everything? Anything else you need me to know or say or do?” 

“Nothing at the moment,” Locus admitted, leaning back himself and sighing. There was so much he was going to have to do to sell something far more involved than married for two hours. A whole day of Felix... It was almost too much to even think about. “I'll contact you with further information the second it is possible. Actually, if it's all the same to you, I'll probably put you in contact with Doyle. He'll handle most of the preparation.”

“You got it,” Felix agreed as the limo rolled to a stop outside of the Dolce building. “Anyone else I should know is in on this charade?” He shifted over on his seat to pop the door open, and Locus shook his head. 

“Only Doyle. He manages my life in many ways,” Locus shrugged. Not that he minded. Doyle was good with small details. 

Not that Felix was a small detail to him. 

“With how complicated your life has gotten just with me, I'm not surprised you need someone to do that,” Felix shrugged before putting on the same sort of smile Locus saw him show people at the parties. 

“So, _honey_ , have a good day at work tomorrow. Master those papers or whatever you do, and don't work yourself too hard before I see you again. See you whenever our party is.”

Just like Felix to take a parting shot like that. To play up the relationship to the end if he felt like it. Well, two could play at that game. Locus shifted over to the back seat where Felix waited by the door and leaned over to kiss Felix's cheek. “Take care of yourself, _darling_. Good luck with your own business.”

Felix just snorted in amusement as he got out of the car, taking the chance to flip Locus off. “Jerk.”

With that Felix slammed the door, leaving Locus to stare after him through the window as he walked toward the building. Walked off. Walked away. 

There was something in him that wanted nothing more than for Felix to come back, lean in, and kiss him. 

“Driver,” Locus called as he pressed the intercom button. “Take me home.”

Why, as the limo pulled away from where he'd dropped Felix off, did he feel like he was leaving something important behind?


	6. An Island Getaway

It was a perfect moment. The smell of the sea and sand. The soft rasp of waves licking against the shore. The gentle giggle of air through the palm fronds high overhead. A dark sky lit with more stars than really should have been possible on this world, and a warm yellow-glow cast all around him by the dimmed lights in the villa. He could taste the salt of the air in his mouth, and that taste was more of his childhood than Locus really knew how to explain. There was even that ever present sensation of wet sand between his toes, sand and salt drying onto his legs from his walking along the beach. 

It was a perfect moment. 

Of course his phone would start ringing with the annoying tone Locus had selected for Felix. Who else would manage to disturb a perfect moment, and yet leave Locus yearning for their presence? 

With a sigh Locus pulled his cellphone from the pocket of his robe, though he didn't break stride as he strode along the sand, the water occasionally coming up far enough to lick at his toes and put a chill in them. Maybe that wasn't the only thing that made Locus shiver, though. 

“I'm assuming you have questions,” he answered. No doubt the call was regarding the fact that they'd be meeting in the morning for their grand charade, or maybe over some detail in the files that Doyle had sent which had laid out the story they were going to tell a while back. “Ones that Doyle could not provide you with answers for and which are too pressing to wait until I see you tomorrow?”

“Shut up,” was the snapped response from Felix. “He's provided me enough. More than, even! But I just...”

There was a tension, a nervousness in Felix's voice that kept Locus silent, and left his heart bordering on racing. 

“He can't tell me it's gonna be fine. So? What do you think? Will it be okay? I mean, I've lied about a million things. Who I was, what I do, what I am, but this is... this is a whole other life we're lying about.”

“You'll have the better part of a day to prepare for it,” Locus assured Felix with a sigh, coming to a stop along the beach and letting the sea water rush up over his ankles. Was it wrong to reassure Felix when he had the same concerns? “Ultimately this will only be lying on a slightly larger scale than you're used to, for a slightly longer period of time. But if that is not enough, find the parts of it you would like to be true, and cling to them. For instance, you seem quite fond of wealth and displays of it, so I believe you should have no issue enjoying the thought of my summer home as your own.”

“Ain't that the truth?” Locus heard Felix mutter. “Okay. I just... had to make sure. Like you said, a little larger scale than I'm used to. And I don't know anyone who has a god damn summer home. Fuck, do you really go to it in the summers? What the fuck is with you rich ass people?”

It was a story that Locus didn't even remotely want to get into, so he just let the question hang until Felix spoke up again, likely to fill the silence. The escort seemed less comfortable with quiet than Locus was. 

“So... I guess I'll meet you there? Or at the airport or what? What are we doing again?”

“A car will be by your apartment to pick you up tomorrow morning. There will be a packet with your plane tickets and everything you need for the flight. I have you booked first class, so you will be comfortable and free to drink to calm your nerves. I don't recommend it, though. I will meet you at the baggage claim when you land. From there we will drive to the port and I'll ferry you to the island myself. Really, it's a simple thing,” Locus shrugged. 

The silence was longer this time, to the point where Locus actually lowered the phone to make sure the call hadn't dropped. Sometimes it did that in the strangest places on the island, which really wasn't too surprising. He managed to get it back to his ear just in time to hear Felix start speaking again. 

“This is the most elaborate lie I've ever lived and I gotta say, I'm kind of _excited_. I mean... Well, I've been around, yeah, but this just sounds like something from Old Earth movies. Well, whatever. You have successfully calmed my nerves, don't let it go to your head, though.”

Like he would ever let himself believe something he did really helped Felix. He was still shocked that Felix wasn't demanding insane rates for the time they were going to spend together. But maybe that wasn't fair to the other man. Felix had helped him before with Lily. Then again, someone could suggest that Locus had paid Felix with his body, but that really hadn't been an agreement so much as something that had happened. Right? 

“It may be your most elaborate lie, but the better part of it is my life,” Locus sighed. “This is something I'll manage to pull off even if you can't. Is that all Felix?”

“One last thing... What are you wearing?” 

Locus could _hear_ the grin in Felix's voice, and rolled his eyes at the question. He should hang up for something so stupid as that, but... 

But he couldn't help but think of those moments in his apartment, pressing Felix into the bed below him, his heart in his throat and pounding in his ears as he took what he wanted. Gave what he was desperate to give. Enjoyed the wonders of Felix's body for the only time he would ever let himself indulge in it. Right? 

“A green silk robe,” Locus provided, smiling himself. “I have a matching orange one in your size, a hideous thing, for you to use while you're staying here. Doyle believes the lie will be easier if you treat it like a truth.”

The answer made Felix snort, “Wow I didn't think you'd answer that. And really? Holy shit, my thanks to Doyle. Again. Gotta send that guy a fruit basket or something. It's really funny how whipped that guy has you. But really? That's it, a silk robe? God, I have the funniest image in my head right now of you. Are you wearing slippers too? Maybe fuzzy or plaid? Oh, and a pipe?”

“I don't smoke,” Locus chuckled to himself, “and no slippers. They would get wet from walking in the surf, if the sand didn't ruin them first. Besides, I quite like the feeling of sand between my toes. But yes, just a robe. Nothing else.”

“Advice,” Felix answered after whistling, though whether or not it was in appreciation was something Locus couldn't figure out. “Put some shorts or something on under it if you're going to sit down or go back to your place and clean near windows or anything. You... probably don't want sand anywhere other than your toes.” 

“I know how to be mindful of myself,” Locus countered, shaking his head. “I don't need to be nagged by my not-husband. I'm also certain of my privacy here. The minimal staff that has come with me to help deal with the insanity of this weekend has withdrawn to the guest house. I'm perfectly fine here like this. I've been doing it for years.”

“Okay, if you say so then I'll believe you, not-husband. I'll see you tomorrow, _dear_. Early in the morning.”

“Tomorrow night I'll show you the stars, _love_ ,” Locus smiled, letting his gaze go upward. Yes. This was the most beautiful sight on the island, and he wanted to share it with Felix. “They're breathtaking from here.”

“Whatever, bye,” Felix laughed, and Locus was left with a silent phone to his ear and the sound of the waves and the wind ruling his world again. 

For a moment it had almost been like Felix had been standing at his side, enjoying this place. The very thought made him smile. At least, for a short time, he could give this place to Felix. Could share this and his love of this place, and maybe make the other man smile. 

“Don't let yourself get caught up in this,” Locus whispered to himself before dropping the phone back into his pocket and turning to make his way back toward the villa. 

He couldn't even begin to know that many miles away Felix was smiling as well, wondering what the fuck he was doing and how he'd managed the complete opposite of getting Locus out of his life.

* * * * * *

There were a lot of things Felix hadn't expected to happen in his life. Becoming an escort was one. Actually being able to buy a flat screen television that took up an entire wall in his bedroom was another. Coming down the escalator at the airport to find an insanely handsome, insanely wealthy, insanely stupid man waiting there, looking half bored and holding a bouquet of tiger lilies had never even been on the list. 

And yet here Felix found himself, stumbling over the end of the escalator, trying not to drop his bags as he stared. Nope, no amount of blinking or fumbling took away the image of the man waiting for him. Worse, said man was now approaching, holding the flowers out even as he took Felix's bags away from him. 

“Morning,” Locus greeted, his voice low and warm as Felix gingerly took the flowers and stared at them. 

“Morning,” he agreed quietly before looking up at Locus. “Starting early aren't we?” 

Still, if Locus was going this far—not like Felix wasn't already wearing his own ring—he had to meet him there, right? So Felix leaned up and kissed Locus's cheek. Fine. Locus could lead, he would follow. 

“As Doyle said, it might be easier if we treat this like it is what we're coming,” Locus pointed out as he brought Felix's backpack over his shoulder. “Easier for us both. We've got a bit over a day to adjust to this act, and it's better to throw ourselves into it. But if you desire, I can stop until we reach the villa.”

“No,” Felix said, shaking his head as he followed Locus through the airport and outside, “no, it's fine. I guess I was just... unprepared. But, yeah, right, we can go right on into it.” 

To emphasize his point he darted forward to catch up with Locus and made a grab for his hand. The first missed, but the second not only found his hand in the warmth of Locus's, but even squeezing it as Felix stared at the flowers rather than think about what he was doing. 

“Don't push yourself,” Locus insisted, as he pulled Felix across the street and into the parking structure on the other side. “There is plenty of time later. We've got a day for you to get into the swing of this. More than that. Now, do you know if you get sea sick at all? I have some pills in the car that will help if you do.”

“You know, I've been in space crafts, cars, planes, even one strange instance of a horse drawn carriage, but never a boat. So... I really don't know,” Felix shrugged. “Hold on to those pills though. I might need them. Though I must admit, I'm really fucking excited to see this house of yours and the island you say it's on.”

“Space crafts provide a far smoother ride. I prefer them myself. A very peaceful mode of travel. Unfortunately I, and my family fortunes, are rather tied up planet-side, and thus I must stay here,” Locus sighed, and Felix couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. Enough wealth to pretty much buy and sell Armonia, and he couldn't even get off planet like Felix could. 

“As for the place... well, it's just a summer home, not very impressive. I suppose the only part which might qualify as such is that I own the island and the three residences on it.”

Felix stumbled a step at that bit of news. No one had told him. “A whole fucking island? To yourself? What the hell?” How could he not be impressed? Like, his great goals one day was getting a big apartment in a nicer part of town. But an island? “Well, whatever. I'm sure anything you own is better than my apartment.” 

They finally passed into the cool darkness of the parking garage and Felix glanced around for something that might suit a guy like Locus. “Did you drive to get me, or is there a driver?”

“I drove myself. I hate having drivers,” Locus groaned in a way that made Felix wonder just why they kept having a limo take them to parties. A question that only grew stronger when Locus dropped his hand to pull keys from his pocket, and with a click of a button the lights of an expensive sports car a bit away flashed. Holy shit. 

“I hate indulging in that level of service,” Locus continued easily, still sounding put upon. “As you may have noticed, I stay in an apartment rather than my family home outside of the city. There is too much empty space there. It's lonely at the best of times. Oh, I hope you don't mind my car. I don't like to rent a car for the time I'm out here, so I drove down a few days ago.”

Mind? Oh hell no. How could he not appreciate the impressive car before him that he was eying? While he was pretty sure the lines of the car would be better complimented by a flashier color like red or orange, the forest green paint job was beautiful on the car he'd never seen the likes of before.

“I pegged you as a guy who would prefer no company And personally, I don't need a car,” Felix admitted, moving to the side of the thing and letting his hand ghost along the body of it, his hand never quite touching lest he piss of Locus again. “But I can appreciate a beautiful piece of machinery, and _damn_. What is it?”

“Seeking no company and preferring no company are two different things,” Locus answered as he unlocked the passenger door for Felix before heading to the trunk with Felix's bags. Felix was quite happy to slide into the seat, running his hands appreciatively over the cool, smooth gray leather of the seats. The whole interior was clean, smooth, sleek, a mastery of black and chrome with dark green lights highlighting buttons now that Locus had opened the trunk. 

“Trust,” Locus announced after he had closed the trunk with a thump and circled back around to slide into the driver's seat, “is a hard won commodity in my work. Too expensive to be bought. To precious to be sold. Even pleasure is more easily treated like business. Except, of course, with my beauty. The body is restored from a model called a Stingray. She was built back in the twenty-first century. What makes her run, though, is all new. She, like the money, has been in the family for a long time, but I put her through a complete overhaul about five years back. A full facelift if you will. There's nothing like her on the roads. Sold off the rest of my father's collection except for a few notable examples of Old Earth engineering and a reliable Charon Automotives convertible for use in the city, but this is my pride and joy.”

“I can see why,” Felix smiled as he buckled up. “On both the car and pleasure treated like business. Hell, I am a perfect example of the latter.”

The chuckle that he earned in response was a strange one. Felix knew he was normally so good at picking apart what someone meant by something. But this time? Well, he didn't know how to read that. So he just looked out the window as Locus drove them from the parking structure and held his tongue for a while. Silent he enjoyed most of the ride, surprising as much with that as with how he still held his flowers and rubbed a petal between his fingers as he marveled at the sights. There just wasn't anything that quite compared to the distant and constantly growing sight of the sea. 

“This place looks like... well, stuff you'd see in Old Earth movies,” Felix shook his head as he rolled down his window and took in the smell of the air. “So clean. I mean... it's actually like, blue. The sky, that is. I've never seen the sky so blue.”

“There are less factories and production centers here than where you are,” Locus pointed out as the car pulled off of the road and up to a guard station where the man present just nodded to Locus and let him pull through to a parking lot that was fronted by wooden walkways. “The wealthy pay quite a bit to not be inconvenienced by the poor or mundane.” 

Felix went still as Locus leaned across him, braced for the pending kiss, and did his best not to breathe a sigh of relief as Locus pulled open the glove compartment and pulled out a tag to hang from his rear view mirror. 

“Come on, the boat's waiting. I've got some breakfast for you in the cabin if you need something. Mostly stuff that isn't so bad on the stomach, just in case. Oh, if you feel like you're going to be sick, there is vanilla ice cream in the freezer.”

“Vanilla ice cream cures nausea?” Felix asked incredulously as he got out of the car. 

“No. Makes vomiting less painful and the taste linger less,” Locus shrugged as he got out and circled to the trunk. “The dairy works against the stomach acid, the vanilla is a pleasant after taste. Your throat burns less too after.”

“How considerate,” Felix mumbled under his breath as he turned his attention past the wood and out to the water. It was just so... limitless. Even the boats he could see lining the docks looked small compared to it. At the same time, it was bluer than he remembered, whether it was from television or flying or even a shuttle up to a spaceship. “Water,” he chuckled to himself before moving to help Locus grab the bags. 

“If this is how you business types live, then hell, sign me up with the next person who needs arm candy,” he joked. “How long until we're, uh, home?”

“This isn't how most business types live,” Locus pointed out as he passed the backpack to Felix and grabbed his proper luggage and a collapsible roller to that he loaded a few cardboard boxes onto. “This is how business types from powerful families that have been here practically since humans set foot on this planet live. Currently I'm the next person who needs you on their arm, by the way. And the ride out is about an hour. You'll be alone for most of it if you want to stay in the cabin.”

“I think I want to explore your ship if it's okay,” Felix admitted. “You can tag along too if you want. In case I sink the ship.” 

His laughter, his joke, was met by a frown from Locus, and all he could do was just continue as if he hadn't said it. “An hour isn't bad and...”

“I would tag along, but I need to keep an eye on the helm,” Locus chuckled at last as he closed the trunk, got things arranged in his hands, and started to lead Felix along the docks. “I'd rather you stick in the cabin, or where I can see you. I'm not sure how strong of a swimmer you are, and I'd rather be aware if you go overboard.”

“You're no fun,” Felix sighed, but he was smiling to himself. At least it was out of concern. He could live with that. “I'll wait in the cabin to keep you from getting your panties in a bunch.” 

Locus didn't respond to that, just put the bags down and jumped easily onto a large boat, the _Restive Days_ , and started to run out a board. Felix crossed his arms and stared at it as it rose and sank with the motion of the ship. 

“This is it? This is how you're getting me aboard?”

“What? Do you want me to carry you bridal style?” Locus asked, crossing back to the dock to carry the bags across. 

“Well, you _are_ my husband.”

That made Locus pause, and Felix smiled. He could still get a rise out of the other man. Good. 

Truth be told, he hadn't expected it to go beyond that. But there was Locus, back at his side with surprising speed, sweeping Felix literally off of his feet and into his arms. Felix just struggled to keep a hold on his backpack and to keep his hand from coming up to tangle into Locus's shirt. He didn't need the extra support or false security, and it might be just a touch too affectionate. 

And he didn't feel anything for this asshole.

At all. 

Period. 

In a matter of moments he was down in the cabin, being lowered to his feet, and left staring at a blow of fresh fruit and a plastic bowl filled with ice and cups of yogurt. 

“Good enough, love?” Locus asked, amusement thick in his voice, and Felix didn't turn to face him. He could still feel heat in his cheeks, and he had no intention of letting Locus know how much that had affected him. 

“Yeah. Now stop being a pain in the ass and go do what you have to do,” Felix dismissed him, reaching absently for a strawberry vanilla yogurt and a spoon. He could occupy himself like that until his head was clear again.

Which from the sound of feet walking away, was sooner rather than later. With a sigh Felix continued past the counter and toward the bed he could see through a door further into the cabin. He contemplated not messing it up for a moment, before flopping down onto it and dropping the unopened yogurt next to him. So here he was, about to be left to his own devices and thoughts for the next hour. He sighed again before pulling out his phone and checking his messages. Nothing so far, just as it should have been. 

“I cleared out the whole weekend for this bullshit, and for _free_! What was I thinking?” he demanded quietly of himself as he reached for the yogurt and spoon again and sat up to open it. “It better be worth it.”

* * * * * *

There were more than a few times in his life that Locus had heard the term 'green around the gills' to describe someone who water travel didn't agree with. Never before had he seen someone it applied to so much as it seemed to for Felix. For the life of him Locus couldn't really come up with a better description of Felix's skin tone when Locus finally had the boat tied up to the dock than green. 

“Hey, you...”

“Nothing like a space craft,” Felix groaned as Locus held out his hand to help Felix onto the stationary dock. He, of course, then proceeded to stagger a few steps, trying to get his balance back, and Locus managed not to chuckle. “I didn't throw up. I was, however, miserable in the bed. Thank god for land.”

That at least made Locus smirk as he reboarded the boat to start carrying supplies and bags onto the dock. 

“It's probably for the best to not have you hold anything important while you're getting used to something under your feet that doesn't rock. If you need to, you can lie down for a while in the bedroom.”

“Fuck that. I'm not sickly, geez,” Felix waved the offer off, standing on the dock and crossing his arms over his chest. “I'm going to stand here and watch my 'husband' be all manly and shit. But, you know, flex a little. Put on a damn show.”

“Contrary to what you've decided, I'm not here to entertain you, Felix,” Locus rolled his eyes as he lifted the last box onto the stack on the roller and got everything situated in his arms and on his back before leading Felix over the dock, landward toward the only place he'd felt was home in a very long time. 

“Oh yeah. That's my job, isn't... Shit,” Felix said, and Locus heard the quick footsteps that had been following him slow and stop as they got their first clear view of the house. “This... is just all you? By yourself?”

Locus looked toward the structure and smiled softly at it. It was a fairly modern style home, but with touches of classic. Most of it, he knew, was made of concrete, but the carefully done siding was all in wood that made the thing look like it had been hewn from a single, huge treat of dark wood. Of course, there wasn't much of that to be seen from this angle, as their best view was of the sunny side of the house, which meant eight foot tall glass windows looking out onto a wrap around porch, hinting at a kitchen, and showing off a full dining room through the glass. Personally he loved the way it lit the place up, but suddenly he was worried about Felix running his fingers all over the windows just to annoy him. 

Somehow he wouldn't put it past the other man. 

“Yes, these days it is,” Locus confirmed for Felix before starting forward again and listening to Felix stumble quickly after him. “My home away from home and people since my father passed. The size made more sense when it was for family use and entertaining. People would visit while we lived here for the summer months. As it is, I've had the place to myself for years. You'll be the first person to stay in the house other than myself in years. Any staff that comes with me stay in one of the other, less lavish houses on the island.”

The only response he got from Felix was a long, thoughtful hum. The silence held until Locus lead them up the patio and through the door into the kitchen. 

“That seems like a big deal, then. Sharing the home you grew up in. Well, sort of grew up in. Either way, sharing with a stranger. I mean... I'm not a _stranger_ but...” 

Locus turned to look at Felix, amused by just how terribly Felix's mastery of the English language seemed to be today. Maybe his silver tongue only come out when it was after dark. Or at least in the afternoon, which it was only just beginning to brush up against. 

“With an escort,” Felix finally said, his voice quiet enough that Locus almost didn't catch it, began to wonder if he'd really heard it at all when Felix continued. “It's nice though. Nicer inside than out. God, I'm totally going to have to go exploring later.”

“You're more than welcome to,” Locus answered, hauling the roller with the cardboard boxes into the kitchen to put away while Felix was getting settled before returning to the other man and taking his hand to guide him down a hall to head deeper into the house. “In general, leave things where you find them. There is only one room you can't enter, and I'll point it out later. For now, well, there will be a number of people here tomorrow night, so we're going to want you to seem familiar with this place.”

He pulled Felix outside of a door and pushed it open, showing him into a rather large and lavishly appointed bedroom by even Locus's opinions. “If you'd like to use another room tonight you are welcome to, provided you make the bed when you wake up. But for the sake of prying noses, I want to leave your bags in here with mine. It would be expected that we're sleeping together. The next room on this side of the hall is a bedroom you could use. The door after that is locked. Don't go through there.”

“You say stay out, and I get curious,” Felix sighed as he wandered around the master bedroom, fingers trailing over a dresser as Locus watched him. “But I'm a good boy, and I won't touch. You have my word as uh, whatever. You just have my word, okay.” 

“That's more than enough for me,” Locus admitted, wheeling the luggage toward the closet and lowering Felix's bag to the ground by it. 

“So... we're sharing a bed then?”

The way Felix said it, the tension to the question, had Locus turning around to look at him in a moment of shock before he relaxed. How had Locus not even considered how suggestive this whole situation might look to Felix. 

“As I said, it's not necessary. The next room over was my bedroom when I was younger, so you could use that,” Locus shrugged. “It's up to you. I'm just trying to keep up...”

He trailed off as he remembered something and even though Felix gave him a weird look Locus strode around the bed to the walk in closet and opened the doors. There on the back of one hanging from a hook next to his own robe was a smaller one, just like he'd promised Felix. Locus took down the length of orange silk and turned to present it to Felix. “As I said, your robe. When you want it, if you do of course, it will be hanging in here.”

“I'll share a bed with you. I haven't made my own bed since... Well, never actually. I never saw the point in making your bed when you just sleep in it again later.” Felix answered at last, moving to Locus's side and trailing his fingers over the robe as he smiled over it. “Damn, it's better than I thought. Looks reasonable as well. I thought it was going to be some obnoxious orange and like a lounge coat or something, but it's actually tasteful. Let me guess... Doyle picked it out.”

“I did,” Locus responded, quite offended at that implication. “Doyle is quite capable in many areas, but he lacks true skills with fashion. If I had let him pick, there would have been ruffles at the collar or lace at the cuffs. The man is frustrating. Anyway, you're welcome to keep the robe when you leave if you desire.”

There was a moment of surprise flashing across Felix's face and Locus was left speechless when there were lips unexpectedly against his. It was a simple, chaste, and surprisingly sweet kiss that he barely had a chance to process. In fact, he only just started to press forward when Felix jerked back and laughed. 

“Getting into the role,” Felix quickly explained. “You're supposed to appreciate a good husband that gets you gifts, right? I'll keep it, thanks.”

“Of course,” Locus agreed, doing his best to keep from licking his lips. God, why couldn't Felix have given him something just a bit longer? “Consider it a gift for assisting me in this mess I've gotten myself into. But...” He took the robe back and hung it back up before guiding Felix to the door. “We should get back to that tour. Just a simple one for now. Your responsibility for today is reviewing the file Doyle prepared for your and familiarizing yourself with the place. There are, as you know, stories to go with the photoshopped pictures I've scattered around the place. We left out details, but please don't embellish too much if you're asked. I want to be able to follow the lies.”

There were too many of them and he was getting too comfortable with the main one. 

“You can ask me questions about anything and everything here, and I will do my best to answer while I finalize arrangements for tomorrow.”

“What about you?” Felix asked as he followed Locus. “You all up to speed and confident with all this bullshit? Not, of course, that I'm doubting your amazing acting abilities or the stories you helped come up with, but you're sure you're not worried or anything?”

“I told you last night, Felix, I'm not worried,” Locus reminded him softly, and pointed to a set of photos of them in front of a waterfall on a side table as he walked. Felix nodded as he looked and Locus just kept talking. “We've played our parts well in the past. I've had time to study the story, and I know what I have to do do. I won't require as much from me to sell the part. I haven't exactly presented myself as overly affectionate or willing to talk about my personal life in the past. You have the harder task.”

“I guess I set myself up for that,” Felix groaned and Locus stopped to look at his 'husband.' The pain on his face was almost heartbreaking. Almost. “Kimball always says my mouth will be the end of me. Maybe I should just go study. Unless this tour is really important?”

“I need to meet with Doyle about catering and lots of other details. You could join me for that if you wanted, but it won't be nearly so entertaining as your likely natural proclivity to explore I expect,” Locus smiled at him, not liking the almost frustrated look on Felix's face. “I'll be back at six for dinner. If you can hold your questions until then I can answer whatever you need. Otherwise, make yourself at home. It is, after all, yours for the next two days.”

That drew a smile from Felix, a warm one as he looked around the place and nodded. “Alright, I'll be here. Studying, poking around, you know, everything and anything.”

This time Locus saw the kiss coming, saw the resolve on Felix's face before the man leaned forward and kissed his cheek before backing away with a wide smile and actually starting down the hallway entirely backwards.

“Have a good day, dear. Be safe. Say 'hi' to Doyle for me.” 

Locus just watched as the other man backed away and got halfway down the hall before turning and walking off. 

There as just something, he realized, about seeing Felix in this setting that just felt right. 

And whatever it was, it made Locus curse the fact that he had to walk all the way to the primary guest house to hunt down Doyle. The truth of the matter was that he would rather be here, following the smaller man, acting out the role he had agreed to play.

With a sigh he turned around and headed for the kitchen. He just had to get all the perishables put away and then he'd talk the long way around to the guest house. That should clear his mind.


	7. A Quiet Dinner

While Felix wouldn't exactly call the place dead, the summer home that Locus seemed to have so much pride in seemed to be the next best thing to it. As he took the time to wander between flipping through the pages of the folder, he found little to interest him, and more than he expected spoke volumes about the place, about Locus. 

A desert, Felix decided. That had to be the best comparison. The place was dusty, empty, almost barren and definitely dead as he looked around. There were a few notable exceptions of rooms that seemed more lived in: the master bedroom, the library, the kitchen, and the airy living room area with the huge windows. As sunny, cheery, comfortable as those places looked, it didn't compare to how depressing the rest was. Most of the other rooms were open, unused, covered in a thick layer of dust and just walking into them tended to make Felix sneeze.

That wasn't even the only thing. Most of the rooms that were lived in seemed halfway toward abandoned as it was. Yes, here and there waited small touches that made a house a home, but they were rare. In the library there were a few photos of Locus with his family. In the bedroom that Locus had offered him there were a few small knickknacks and decorations that seemed to be hand made of shells by a child. There was even a beautifully carved wooden train set on the living room mantle, but really, there wasn't much. Pictures of Felix and Locus, or Felix alone, or other things that he was certain were meant to sell the story, but mostly, there was little to make this place comfortable, and none of it was very revealing.

Some how it was more depressing than the almost sterile atmosphere of Locus's office or the precision of his apartment. From the way Locus had spoken of this place, it was important to him, and even this felt like Locus was a stranger to it.

Or maybe he was just thinking too much. 

Yeah, that had to be it, Felix decided hours later when he heard movement elsewhere in the house. He pulled himself out of the comfortable armchair in Locus's room and stretched, tossing the folder aside before shuffling out to find his company. Maybe, he though, it was Doyle, or some member of the staff. After all, a quick glance at the clock in the room said it was still an hour until he was supposed to meet Locus for dinner. 

So, of course, he wasn't expecting to catch sight of his host in the kitchen itself. Maybe he should have expected that. When he'd gone to Locus's with Lily they'd found Locus covered with flour and clearly busy with something. Why would it be surprising to see Locus doing the same here? 

Felix smirked and headed into the kitchen, circling to a part of the counter that wasn't covered with fresh vegetables or other stuff and hoped up to sit on the cool granite surface. 

“So... First, let's go through the motions. How was your day?” Felix asked. “I spent a long time on those files.”

Dry stuff, even with the emotional hints, he thought as he swung his feet back and forth. The usual stuff. Reminders on how they had met, how their marriage ceremony went, other little mundane details that sold stories like this. He had no questions on any of that. Really, most of his questions were about this place itself and how sparsely used it seemed. 

“Doyle decided he wanted to nag me over your clothing choices for tomorrow. As if there was any chance to make alterations at this point,” Locus answered as he moved to the fridge and disappeared briefly to pull a container of something out. “Most of the planning has been completed, and we'll have people here starting at mid-afternoon to prepare everything. I will have to head out around two to fetch our guests back.”

Locus moved to the cutting board beside Felix, setting down the container filled with some fluid and floating white balls that Felix couldn't identify. Then there was a hand hooked around the back of Felix's neck, pulling him down toward Locus and the brief, warm press of lips in what he thought was supposed to be an affectionate kiss. 

“I need to head down into the wine cellar tonight to select the wines, if you're interested in helping,” Locus continued as if the kiss was just the most casual fucking thing in the universe. Which, Felix supposed, it was supposed to be. It should be, in their 'relationship'. 

Still, Felix was left blinking at Locus as the man pulled some tomatoes in front of himself and pulled out a knife. Blinking and licking his lips while he barely registered the words. Okay, Felix, do something. 

He nodded—great move when Locus wasn't even looking at him—and tried to latch onto where he thought the conversation had been going. “I, um, don't know anything about wine. But, I can go with you if you want.” 

Yeah, because someone like Locus wanted the distraction of Felix, especially down in a room with what had to be lots of really expensive bottles when Felix felt about a coordinated as a newborn puppy. “So, tomorrow sounds stressful. How do you handle being so calm about this? Party planning, I mean. Fuck, I would rather be the one _going_ to a party than the one hosting.” 

Again Felix laughs, trying to sound casual. Trying to distract himself from the fact that he could still feel Locus's lips against his. 

“I have hosted before,” Locus answered, his deep voice almost soothing next to the rhythmic sound of the knife hitting scraping over the wood of the cutting board as he worked. “Without Doyle and the planner he hired, though, this would be a disaster. This is not the sort of thing I handle well. I was never supposed to. I am a business man first and foremost. At best I was meant, _am_ meant, to marry a woman to do this sort of thing for me, it's expected. Otherwise, I hire help.”

Felix didn't bother to jump on the stupidity of marrying a woman only to have her manage Locus's social life. Instead he started kicking his feet again. “Good thing you have Doyle, then. A little of column A, a little of column B, all in a man that seems to micromanage your life.”

He watched as Locus pushed the chopped tomato aside and put the knife down to reach for something else, and then Felix awkwardly grabbed for Locus's hand to pat it gently. “Just so you know... breathe, I guess. You got the hired help, literally, to make it easy for you. Just let them do their work and it'll be okay. They're professionals, and professionals get things done properly.” 

That was something Felix should know. And yet here he was, maybe professional maybe personal—it was so hard to tell anymore—and he wasn't sure if he was doing this right. How the hell was he supposed to reassure a guy as self-possessed as Locus?

“And you?” Locus asked, his hand twisting so that Felix was holding it and Locus's thumb was running over his skin over and over. “Are you going to be okay with this? You need to be more confident, which I haven't seen from you yet today. Look around you, Felix. Everything you see in this place would belong to my spouse. Belong to you. Act like it.”

Felix let himself look around, just to get away from the intensity of Locus's eyes on him, and actually _looked_ at the place around them. Dear god, Locus was right, wasn't he? Felix's entire day here had been spent looking at this place as Locus's home. Maybe even a touch like an expensive hotel a client had brought him back to. But it wasn't that. Couldn't be that for the act. Absently he squeezed Locus's hand as he slowly breathed the place in and out as he looked and smiled. 

“Yeah,” he said at last, returning his gaze to Locus and nodding. “I'm fine. You know me, I've got this. I'll be good tomorrow. I promise that you'll be handing me all the awards for how good I play this up. People will go, 'My what a beautiful home you have!' and I'll be all, 'Oh I know, isn't it? I'm thinking of setting up a little garden in the back for herbs and vegetables for when Locus cooks, but I just don't have a green thumb' and all that bullshit I'm supposed to say.”

Locus laughed, and Felix felt his smile widen. It wasn't often that Locus truly laughed in front of him, and he loved the sound of it.

“You? Garden, I would pay to see that.”

With that Locus pulled his hand from Felix's—Felix didn't think about how cold his hand felt after that—and returned his attention to pulling things in front of himself to chop or cut or whatever that size of stuff counted as. 

“Remember, Felix, that this is in no small part about you. You're going to be the center of attention. You and my... _our_ home. You are already charming and entertaining. Just make sure that you give the guests a larger dose of that than normal. Any other questions?”

“Locus, Locus, Locus,” Felix said, tone dipping into the sarcastically disappointed, “have you learned _nothing_ in the time you've known me? I live to be the center of attention. Well, not really, but fuck my track record says I was born to do this. You'll see. I'll have everyone eating out of my hands in no time flat. Maybe literally too if we have finger foods, who fucking knows.”

He watched as Locus started working on a green pepper, cutting into it with quick, almost mechanical precision. “You know... it's kinda cute, this whole cooking thing you have going on.”

That earned him a smile from Locus when the other man looked up from the chopping. 

“Have you ever had someone cook for you before?” Locus asked, his voice dropping just a little, closer to the tones Felix had heard in Locus's bed, and damn if that didn't send a shiver down his spine. A shiver that wasn't helped when Locus selected a piece of green pepper and held it up for Felix in a clear offer. “There is something powerful in cooking. Being able to feed someone, to keep them going, to please the senses.”

Something in the way he said it—probably the tone and what it was doing to Felix's head—made Felix lick his lips and lean forward. He caught the bit of pepper between his teeth and not only met, but held Locus's gaze as he bit into it. Sure it was raw, sure it was a vegetable and thus not his normal thing, but Felix's didn't care. The cool, crisp, moist explosion and flavor on his tongue was almost as pleasant as his lips brushing against Locus's fingers. And curse his traitorous tongue for reaching out, curling around the rest of the pepper to pull it into his mouth. But maybe he just enjoyed the way Locus's eyes flashed to his lips and watched as Felix chewed and swallowed. 

“No,” Felix said when his mouth was clear and Locus's eyes tore away from Felix to stare down at his pepper even though he didn't start to cut again. “I can't say that I have. I mean if you count restaurants then sure. But no home cooked meals. You? Or do you... like being the one in control?”

“Being in control...” Locus said after a long moment and his knife returned to chopping, “is all I know how to do. I wouldn't know how to give that up, much less how to function without my power. Cooking grants me a special sort of control over my life outside of business. I make it a point to cook at least three meals a week.”

“Wow,” Felix cooed, half impressed. “An actual point? Shit, Locus, if I didn't know any better I'd say you have a problem, but I mean being in control of oneself is probably a _good_ thing. I guess I'm like that too? Only with my business.”

He watched as Locus moved his chopped vegetables to a bowl and opened the plastic container, letting out the pungent smell of what was maybe cheese? Still, Felix was pretty sure his hesitation had to do less with the strange scent and apparent food and more with wondering if he was revealing too much about himself. 

Would it matter if he went that far, he found himself thinking? After all, two days and then he was gone. After this he resolved that he really wasn't going to see Locus again. Period. 

Well, then saying it wouldn't matter too much, right? 

“Why do you think I talk so god damn much?” Felix continued as he watched Locus work. “I control the conversations, the situations I end up in most of the time, and these people eat it the fuck up. Some of my clients too, those lonely old bastards. Well, they're not old, but you know? I get some weird cards of course, all sorts of flavors. But, anyway, I can understand where you're coming from, you know? You have to be in charge in your line of work, just like I am in mine, I imagine. It's really kind of attractive, you know. Being in charge of things.”

“Am I a 'weird card'? Be honest,” Locus insisted as he busied himself around the stove. “I have to assume I am such. As you already pointed out, it is apparently strange for me to cook at least three meals a week. Of course, three meals out of twenty-one in a week seems rather minor. And they are rarely as complex as what I'm making for tonight.”

Felix sighed and pulled a leg up to brace on the counter so he could rest his head on his knee. “You? No, you're rather fucking tame in the grand scheme. And three meals isn't bad, but it was just like... 'I have to make these meals for myself or I'll lose it!' is what I thought, but anyway...”

Again he hesitated for half a moment before pushing on. “I... once had a client, some guy, doesn't matter who okay? He wanted me to go on a date with him. Simple, right? And the pay was good, so I went. After that he kept asking for me. And asking. And asking. And _asking_. Which is completely fine. I figured I did a good job. Then the psycho started showing up at my _apartment_. Which I know doesn't sound weird because you've been to mine, but it's a rule in our company. None of the clients are supposed to know where we live, what our personal info is...”

Felix trained off for a long moment while he realized just how badly he'd fucked up with Locus on those rules. 

“Just... there he was. Turns out he followed me home every night I worked for him after those first couple nights. Then he got ahold of my cell and e-mail. Don't ask me how. I nearly fucking punched the shit out of the guy, but Kimball convinced me to go through their legal bullshit route to report him. I would rather have taken him out back and beat the crap out of him, but this way no one got sued. And that...” Felix paused and sighed, “was a more tame story.”

Locus didn't look up from the pot of something wonderful smelling that he was funneling the peppers and tomatoes into, but his voice carried back to Felix anyway. “Have I caused you issues by being aware of your personal information? In all honesty I haven't meant to cause you as many problems as I clearly have. It was my intention to cleanly cut ties with you, but our wonderful Mrs. Johnson did give me the cold shoulder when I implied you were gone.”

Felix watched as Locus stirred the pot, then brought a wooden spoon of the sauce up to taste. “I think it needs more oregano...” 

Then Locus was in front of him again, offering the spoon to Felix. “What do you think?”

“Did you miss the part where I don't know shit about cooking, Locus?” Felix laughed, but he leaned forward anyway, letting Locus press the spoon to his lips and licking it clean. “It taste fine to me. Really good even. If you think you need more, though, you should add it. I'll be _glad_ to test it again.”

If that was what home cooking tasted like, Felix mused as he licked his lips clean, well, he could get used to that. And he could get used to the way Locus's eyes followed his tongue, and the way Locus pulled him down into another kiss. A kiss that was a shade longer and definitely warmer than before. A kiss that still, sadly, ended far sooner than Felix wanted. God, he wanted it to go on so much longer. Wanted it to be like kissing in Locus's apartment, with them ending up back on Locus's bed, hungry for each other. 

But the way Locus looked away and returned to the stove said that wasn't exactly likely to happen. 

“Anyway, this is totally different. That guy was literally stalking me. I understand clients who have favorite escorts, but that shit is on the clock. Once we're off the clock, it's... different.” 

Like having sex with clients. Anyone who did that did it off the clock. Like Felix had. With Locus. In Locus's apartment which he'd ended up in off the clock. Fuck. He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair to try and shake the memories loose and away. “You're fine. If you were trouble, Kimball wouldn't have talked to me about taking you back as a client, much less let me do it.”

“And,” Locus agreed from the stove as he sprinkled something from a small glass bottle into the pot, “if I was too much of a pain, I suppose you wouldn't have dragged me out of this latest problem either. I really must find a way to thank you for the favor you're doing for me here.”

“If I had a problem with you, I would have told her to redirect your business to someone who matched me in appearance and personality,” Felix shrugged, but he knew just as well as he figured Locus did that it was more complicated than that. So he went silent for a moment as he watched Locus fiddle with a dial on the stove and move away to some other task entirely. “It's no problem, like I said. You just owe me two favors later. I'll cash them in when I need them. Simple as that.”

“I can hardly imagine there being someone else on Dolce's lineup that has your looks and personality,” Locus chuckled in response. “Anyway, I'll have the rest of this together in less than ten minutes. Could you get dishes down for us? The cabinets furthest from the fridge have plates, and the drawer below it for silverware. Forks. We can just eat in here.”

Hey, Felix wasn't going to pass up any excuse to get his eyes off of Locus, so he had no problem hopping down from the counter and heading over where Locus was pointing. 

“Honestly, you'd be surprised. I've seen this guy at HQ that would be thrown at you if you wanted someone that looked like me. Pretty close. Not exactly doppelganger territory, because I'm cuter, but good enough that you could use him in the future I guess.”

“I'd notice the difference.”

Felix froze with his hands on the plates and had to force himself to breathe and just pull them down before opening the drawer for forks. 

“I pay for _your_ company, Felix. Not some random man who may look a bit like you. I'd rather not have to teach someone new how to handle the situations you've always known how to read for yourself. We work well together, Felix. As such, I don't feel like training a replacement.”

* * * * * *

Laughter was the response he got. Laughter punctuated by the sound of Felix putting the plates on the kitchen table. 

“You make me sound like a pet you bought, which wouldn't be _too_ far from the truth. And I have been called worse, so whatever.” 

That was followed by a small exhalation that Locus guessed was the sound of Felix hopping back up on the counter. Locus wasn't sure which hurt more, the fact that he'd implied that Felix could be replaced at all, or the implication that the only reason he didn't was because it was too much effort. In fact, he wasn't sure which he thought would be the better answer to that question. The former would never be true, Locus was pretty sure about that. The latter trivialized the way his chest clenched painfully at the very thought of that moment when he put Felix back on the mainland and saw him for the final time. 

“I've got a question.”

Locus didn't bother to look back over his shoulder this time, just carefully teased a strand of pasta out of the boiling pot and bit to test whether it was done or not. It wasn't, he hadn't expected it to be, but it was a good way to keep his eyes off of the man who had spent his entire time in the kitchen seeming just on the edge of trying to seduce Locus. Seriously, who ate green pepper like that? And the way Felix had looked about ready to suck on the tip of the sauce spoon had made him shiver in the worst way. 

“Feel free not to answer, because you know, you're not obligated to talk about anything but... Kimball said that when I was off-planet she tried to set you up with another one of our people. Like... did she just blow it or what? I haven't met her myself, but... Well, I have in passing and she seemed nice around the office but that isn't what people are always like, you know?”

Well, that was an easy enough question, not that Locus liked to think about that period of time. It wasn't that he missed Felix, just that he... 

No. He'd missed Felix. What was the point in lying? 

“She... was an enthusiastic, bubbly, under-dressed for my taste woman whose small talk at our interview lunch together failed to prove suitable to my level of business and who was overly forward.” 

Which was an understatement. Locus almost had to shudder at the memory of the girl, Kai, whose foot had gone places it definitely _shouldn't_ have been. “At the end of the lunch she invited me back to her place. I called her a cab and sent her home.”

And the cab had been a calculated insult, for all that the woman hadn't seemed to notice it. Even when he'd sent Felix home from his own apartment he'd sent Felix in a paid car, rather than a cab. 

“Despite her thoughts, I was not interested in buying companionship. If I wanted that, I could find far cheaper prices with more adequate skill. Or far more for individuals who better knew how to read people and respect boundaries in public situations.”

If he never saw Kaikaina Grif again in his life, well, he would be happy. 

Again Felix laughed, and Locus smiled briefly at the sound of it. He loved the sound of Felix mirthful. 

And no, he wasn't even remotely willing to analyze his own word choice there. 

“Holy shit, I would have paid, actually _paid_ to see that. God, one of the basics in this shit is 'don't sleep with clients first thing.' I mean, unless that's already on the table. Like, if you'd said 'I want to sleep with you' then she would have been welcome to be forward, but otherwise you keep it the fuck to yourself.”

So what had that made... no, don't finish that thought either. 

“Well, it's not actual policy or written down anywhere. It's just the thing we all sort of agree on, the other escorts and I. Geez. Sounds like a fucking train wreck,” Felix observed, a note of what Locus thought might be joy in his voice. “At least I know what I'm doing.”

“Yes,” Locus agreed with a smile as he turned the heat off under the pasta and moved the whole pot to the sink to strain the noodles. “I seem to recall you knowing quite well what you were doing, both on the job and off. I will happily gran that you are experienced and probably worth more than even I ever paid you. That aside, dinner will be ready in a moment.”

There was the sound of activity, accented by motion in the corner of Locus's vision, but he didn't realize just how close Felix was until a plate was being set down at his side. When he reached out the second was handed over to him, and it took far more effort than he would have liked to keep from lingering against the warmth of Felix's skin. Instead he turned his gaze fully to putting pasta on first one plate and then the other. It wasn't until he took them to the stove to pour sauce over them and lay slices of the fresh Parmesan cheese over it to melt a little that he finally spoke up again. 

“I'm sure she learned proper escort behavior since our meeting, but I'm not willing to work with someone new again, as I said.”

As he made it to the table Felix stood and took a plate from Locus and then settled back down. For half a second Locus stared at him as Felix pursed his lips, a clear attempt to keep from saying something. Well, he could understand that. So Locus just moved to the opposite chair and sat, grabbing a napkin from the holder between them while Felix took his first bite. 

He cared, maybe a little too much, about how Felix reacted to the meal. 

“Oh god,” Felix almost moaned around his first mouthful, and Locus had to bite his own lip to keep himself from looking up too fast. “This is _really_ good. If this is what home cooked tastes like, then I should dust off my stove and try it some time.” 

At least Locus thought Felix said 'some time'; it was hard to be sure with how garbled the words were with another forkful of pasta in Felix's mouth. Locus just smiled at the sight of Felix's eyes closed, his head tilted up a bit as he savored what he was eating, and damn the way Felix licked his lips when he pulled the fork back...

Locus really needed to stop being alone with Felix in kitchens. It was killing him, sight after gorgeous sight.

“It takes a fair amount of practice,” Locus answered as he smiled down at his own meal before lifting a bit to his own lips. Damn, still not quite enough oregano. Oh well, too late to remedy that. “Maybe you can save one of your favors for a home cooked meal. But... I suppose that would be a rather poor use.”

He looked up again and saw Felix staring at him, and to have that gaze so intent on him... Locus quickly spooled a bit more pasta onto his fork, made sure it was well sauced and held his fork out to Felix. “I believe such behavior may be expected of us in the more intimate home setting of tomorrow night's party.”

Why was he doing this to himself? Still, the look Felix gave the fork before smiling and shaking his head was almost worth the way Felix was leaning forward. 

“What, feeding each other? Let's hope not,” Felix answered, but sure enough he took the bite and Locus got to watch as Felix's eyes fluttered briefly closed and he pulled back from the fork, taking the food with him and leaving his lips trailing over the metal in a way that while not pornographic probably wouldn't have been seen as acceptable for general audiences. Or at least not in Locus's mind. 

“Unless we have to, then fine,” Felix continued as he chewed carefully. “Whatever keeps you in Joyce's good graces.”

“I won't need to stay there long,” Locus admitted quietly. “I got a call today from Lily. Joyce... may not live out the month. Her doctors are concerned of her traveling here for us as it is. But she won't be dissuaded. So, I suppose, you'll soon be free of me.”

He stared back down at his meal, suddenly less hungry, as Felix snorted. 

“Isn't that what you want anyway? Other than being a fucking bitch to me, Lily doesn't seem too bad,” Felix said at last, his voice somewhat more professional than Locus was used to these days. “I guess she still likes you. Of course I still tune her out half the time. That's actually how I don't mouth off at her so much. I don't listen to half of what she says.”

“Must I remind you how much I dislike her?” Locus sighed, shaking his head. “Lily is never worth listening to. But... Well, you know my plan.”

“If I had a glass, I'd fucking toast your future happiness,” Felix mocked from across the table, and Locus flinched at it. “Whatever, right? Not like you can't have a mistress or mister on the side. Is it called a mister?”

Locus looked up to suggest that it probably wasn't, but he just had to watch as Felix barreled on anyway. 

“As long as you get to keep your business running, it's good. Honestly, she might be good for that, even if she will bore you to tears.”

With a sigh Locus returned his attention to his meal and tried not to let Felix's words get to him. “I doubt I'll be able to have a mistress...”

Well, there went that plan. 

“Pre-nuptial contracts on my level of wealth are quite inane. So much as a whisper of scandal can ruin the ways I'm intending to expand the business,” he finished, because really, he'd started so he might as well. 

Another mouthful of pasta, focus on the food and not the man who was currently across the table, all but laughing at Locus. “Shit, no pressure then. Wow, have fun with _that_.” 

There was silence for a long while, only the sound of forks scraping over plates, and honestly. Locus was thankful to be free of conversation related to Lily and the chances he had of marrying her. The last thing he wanted to think about was any moment past when he'd lose Felix. 

At last Felix stood and Locus looked up at him and his clean plate. “Thanks for dinner, Locus. It was amazing, and I really mean that. I... can clean up for you if you want?”

“I'm glad you enjoyed it,” Locus admitted, truly he was relieved, as he pushed his own plate away. “Don't worry about the dishes. I'll leave them for the staff in the morning. It should be the only thing they need to touch in the kitchen apart from meal prep.” 

Again there was that silence, awkward this time, and Locus said the only thing he could think of to break it. 

“Last night, on the phone, I offered to show you the stars. There's a spot up the beach that's perfect for star gazing. The... offer still stands if you'd like to join me.”

* * * * * *

“Oh,” Felix said softly as he looked back at Locus. “You... were serious?” 

He let his gaze turn to the window, outward to the already dark sky, and he smiled at it. You could actually see the stars out here. “Yeah, I'm down with it. I mean... I should know what the night is like here anyway, right?”

“Of course,” Locus agreed, and when Felix looked to him, there was a hand in Felix's, Locus pulling him toward the door. “I would show this view to someone important to me, so you should see it.”

“I'm important to you?” Felix asked, letting Locus pull him onto the patio and down onto the beach without putting his shoes on. All he could do was blink and follow and contemplate the sand between his toes and Locus's words and how stupid he sounded parroting them back. God it had been so dumb to say that. Locus meant the act, right? “I mean, of course I am. I'm a big player in your plan. So...” 

His grip on Locus's hand tightened, and he for a moment he hated how warm it made him feel even though he should be used to it. Should act like he was used to it. Wasn't used to it at all. He wanted to linger like this forever. The warmth of Locus's hand in his, the excited energy around the other man, and the soft feeling of cool, wet sand between his toes. 

“Of course you are,” Locus answered anyway, slowing down and forcing Felix to do so as well. At last Felix slowly settles into a pace with Locus, standing at his side. “The best view is a few minutes up the beach, away from the light of the house. But It looks pretty good right now, doesn't it?”

Felix let his eyes go skyward, trusting Locus to make sure he didn't run into anything or trip. “Yeah... it does.”

Damn Locus for being right. Already the night sky was startlingly clear. In the city there was nothing. Too bright from the city lights, and far too smoggy to see anything. Sometimes you couldn't even see the moon in the city at night, but here everything was out and glittering. It was beautiful. 

“I only ever get to see the stars and stuff when I'm going off planet. It's... weird to see them on the surface.”

“It's strange to _not_ see them in my opinion,” Locus answered, his voice slow, almost lazy, and falling perfectly in time with the soft wash of waves on the shore. The sound together was far past soothing. It was comfortable. “From here it almost feels like you can reach out and be up there, rather than bound by gravity. The sheer amount of stuff out there... it boggles the mind when we live our lives so caught up in ourselves.”

“That's... really kind of poetic,” Felix chuckled, smiling at Locus. Enjoys smiling at him. Maybe, for a moment, if he pretended hard enough, it could almost feel like they actually were something. What that something was he didn't know. Maybe like the rings on their hands meant something. It's stupid, it's self-destructive, and it was more than he could ever have. Ever even dream to have.

“It's not my norm, I assure you,” Locus answered, bringing them to a stop. Felix watched as Locus turned to him, went frozen as a hand came up and curved around his jaw. They were still there for a long moment as Felix wondered whether Locus was going to kiss him again. 

And then he didn't need to wonder anymore, because he was leaning forward to meet Locus in the kiss. 

He could feel something inside him swell, break, release deep down inside of him. There was just something about the atmosphere he told himself. In the dark, the stars, the soft sounds of the waves breaking on sand and Locus's hands holding him there. His lips... He could feel his eyes shut, his brows furrow because this was it. This was the pinnacle of his frustration and confusion. They were pretending, were supposed to be pretending, but like in Locus's apartment, there was no one here to see the act. So... why? Why was he kissing back, his own hands hesitantly raising to mold around Locus's face? This was so far beyond the realm of practice, so far beyond an act, and it was killing him slowly. 

The worst part was that Locus's lips were exactly what he remembered them being like, and he hated that he remembered them so easily, and loved that he could only engrave that memory deeper into his mind. 

Leave it to Locus to wait until Felix was finally pressing in, finally joining the kiss, to pull away. Asshole. 

“I'm sorry,” Locus whispered. “That was unprofessional of me. I was... caught up in the moment.”

All Felix could do was step back and clear his throat. “Uh, yeah. I don't blame you. It's...” Magical. Romantic. Beautiful. Perfect. “Whatever, just don't sweat it. It's... getting late, huh? Maybe we should... call it a night. Do we have to get up early?”

“You're free to sleep in as late as you want,” Locus answered, his hands moving into his pockets as he backed up another step. Yes. Space, that was something Felix needed. “But to do that we have to get you back. Come on then.”

With that Locus turned and started back toward the villa, Felix following a few paces behind him, arms crossed over his chest. He hated this spot on the beach now, though he couldn't begin to understand just why it was. In fact, he didn't even fucking care to figure out why. He just did. That didn't mean he said anything along those lines as they made their way back to the house, taking a moment to clean their feet in a small tub of water by the patio door before shuffling into the big, still empty house, and up to the master bedroom. 

The master bedroom where Felix was going to have to share a bed with Locus. He groaned inwardly. Could tonight get any worse? Maybe he really should have taken Locus up on that spare room. He still could. Except fuck making a bed in the morning. 

“I'm... gonna go get changed,” Felix mumbled, mood sour as he moved to where Locus had left his bags and he began to dig out his bed clothes. How in the world had he fucked this all up so royally? He had rules dammit. Rules that said not to come to care for a client. Not to come to l... Nope. Fuck that word. Fuck it hard with a rusty knife. 

He didn't wait for Locus to respond, just grabbed his clothes and toiletries and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He could shower in the morning, but for now... Now he just stood there by the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. 

“How the fuck are you such a fuck up?” he whispered to his reflection. 

By breaking his rules about twenty times too many for Locus. For the beautiful, intelligent asshole he was now fake married to and going to share a bed with. 

Fuck his life.

Fuck him. 

Fuck Locus. 

Oh dear god don't think about fucking Locus.

By the time he finally calmed down enough to leave the bathroom, his clothes folded and ready to drape on the top of his luggage, he could see Locus sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, lamp on and a book in his hands. Damn, why did that silk robe have to look so damn good on Locus. 

_It would look better on the floor,_ Felix's traitorous mind supplied, and he almost had to slap himself to get that thought to leave him alone. 

“Well, look at you,” he said instead. “You're like the picture on a business magazine. You know, except for the robe... That's a nice color on you by the way.”

That got Locus to look up briefly, and those eyes on him, green and piercing, wow, Felix couldn't handle them at this moment. So he just kept talking as he made his way to the bed. 

“Do you care which side of the bed you get?” Felix rambled as he pushed the covers down and hopped onto the bed like the question really wasn't important. And almost immediately Felix let himself flop down in the middle of the bed, not quite moaning at the soft, smooth feeling of the cool sheets on his skin. “Holy fuck, give me a moment. Oh... oh god... This bed... It feels so _good_.”

He punctuated that by pulling the blankets over him, even though he was at a weird angle, and he snuggled into them. “Dear god I love rich things. This is so good.”

Thankfully the angle meant that Felix couldn't look at Locus when he heard the rich, deep chuckle of the other man. A chuckle that swelled until it was full on laughter, and Felix let his eyes go wide in shock. Locus had never laughed like that before. It sounded like Locus was moments from falling out of his chair. 

“That's it,” Locus managed in his laughter as Felix shifted around like a worm, trying to find more skin to put into contact with the perfectly soft sheets. “That is the moment. I can now honestly say I have never met anyone like you before, Felix. Nor do I think I shall ever meet anyone like you again. It's just a bed. There can't be that much difference between how it feels and how any other bed feels. So far as I know, it's identical to the one in my apartment.”

“No, you shut up,” Felix insisted. “The threat count must be different on these sheets or something. It _definitely_ feels different from your apartment, and is worlds better than my bed, so shut up.” 

At last he rolled and twisted until he was lying down nearest the door and furthest from Locus, and he adjusted the blankets so they were properly draped over him. 

“I've slept in a lot of beds, and this one definitely tops the list of most comfortable,” he sighed contentedly as his head sank just the perfect amount into the pillow. “Wake me up when you get up, okay? Cause I know I'm allowed to sleep in, but technically I'm on the clock first thing, so...”

“You're not on the flock first thing,” Locus countered, his laughter dying away. With that the lights in the room all went out save for the lamp Felix remembered being by Felix. Which didn't matter, he supposed, seeing as he had his back to Locus. “I suppose the sheets are part of the difference. Quality bedding is one of my greatest indulgences in life. I... may be known to take an extra set with me when I'm on business trips. Hotels never compare.”

“Maybe I'll indulge myself too when I get back home,” Felix yawned, snuggling into the pillow more. “If I wake up in the morning, I wake up.”

If Locus responded Felix didn't know it. His head was to hazy with sleep. Everything in the moment felt right. The quiet hum of the house around them. The soft warmth of the bed. The way everything around him faintly smelled like Locus and an ocean breeze. 

He feel asleep with a smile on his lips.


	8. An Easy Afternoon

Locus didn't dream. At least, not that he remembered. There were some mornings that he got up and he was certain that there had been something, was something, lingering on the edge of memory. A warm feeling or an emotion hovering just out of reach. 

This would be one of those mornings he mused to himself as he slowly opened his eyes and allowed himself a moment to revel in the familiar feeling of forgetting and the lingering warmth of whatever dream he'd been caught him. Mornings like this had been more and more common since he had met Felix, and really, he understood why even as he hated his traitor mind for repeating moments like these over and over again. 

If he had to guess he'd say that he had dreamt of the other man, had been caught up in the idea of him, the idea of them, the impossible situation they had gotten themselves into. That would be why even now the warmth seemed to linger at his side, lingered and refused to dis...

Or, a more reasonable part of his mind spoke up when he realized his arm was wrapped around a warm body which had just shifted unconsciously to get closer to him, it was because he was actually here. Actually in the moment where he woke up with Felix in his arms. Strange how he'd thought it would never come, but if he had been fair with himself he should have seen it coming. Sure he had never been affectionate like this in the past with people he had been involved with, but none of them were Felix. None of them plagued his dreams as surely as Locus thought he did. Nor had any ever caught in his waking thoughts so powerfully as Felix had when the man had left. 

Which made a moment like this, so perfect and so domestic and so impossible in his understanding of the world, so great a temptation. 

Locus held back a sigh as he carefully lifted his arm from Felix. If the other man had caught them in such a position there would have been shouting, and the last thing he needed now was to encourage it now that he was actually free to extract himself. Tonight he would have to be sure to stay further away from Felix in hopes that they wouldn't find themselves pressed against each other by mistake. Not when everything was so close to a proper ending. 

Once his arm was no longer a risk to waking Felix, Locus slowly lifted the sheets and light blanket to free himself from the bed. It was more of a mess than he was used to, the fabric clinging to him in the the worst ways, tangled around his legs as much as his chest. Of course a cursory examination pointed to Felix as the source of the problem, his own legs so madly tangled up in the bedding that it would be a chore to extract him. Well, that was a problem Felix was going to have to deal with on his own, one made harder by the fact that at some point in the night he had apparently managed to pull the comforter from the foot of the bed, pile it onto himself, and he had managed to tangle himself in that as well. 

Maybe, Locus amused himself by thinking, rich things loved Felix just as much as Felix loved them. After all, he...

That line of thought was cut off immediately as Locus pushed himself to sitting and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. It would do him no good at all to be wishful. In fact, it would be the opposite. It would hurt worse than he cared to think about to let himself linger in such hopes. So Locus carefully dropped his blankets, pushed to his feet, and paused just short of the bathroom door. He needed a shower, that much was certain, but truth be told he didn't entirely feel comfortable with the idea of coming out of the bathroom in only a towel and changing where Felix could see him. It was ridiculous considering their past, but there was still a part of him that was too mindful, too aware of Felix to give him a show, so to speak. Thus he stopped at the closet door nearest the bathroom, selected a fitting outfit for the day, and with that in hand he made his way into the bathroom for his morning shower. 

The hardest part, he realized minutes later when the warm water was pouring over his skin and damping his loose hair, was the fact that even this was familiar. Maybe the situation was a bit reversed, but hadn't they found themselves in a position like this in the past? Felix stealing his shower while Locus laid stretched out on his own bed, thinking of what they had shared? 

No.

This was different, he decided as he got his shampoo and worked a lather into his hair. That moment, as wonderful as it had been, had been a flitting glimpse at intimacy. What should have been the one taste to sate him. This was closer to something domestic. Yes, a type of intimacy, but a very different one indeed. One could share that satiation with anyone, but something like this... 

It was an act, he reminded himself as he worked suds into the length of his hair. Felix had chosen this room to get out of the simple chore of making a bed. There was nothing meant by it, no desire for proximity. Felix was... well, an acquaintance at the absolute best, helping him through a very troubling time. Once the guests had come and gone so too would this. 

With a sigh he shook the thoughts from his head and turned the full of his attention to the process of getting clean. There was too much to do today to waste time thinking over something that was already set in stone. That much he was certain of. 

Soon enough Locus found himself cleaned, dried, dressed and back out in the bedroom, and again he felt something creeping into the back of his mind. As he looked at Felix sleeping on his bed, stretched out and bundled in his blankets he knew, with absolute certainty, that he was lost in this man. No more suspicions, no more fears, he knew completely that as he looked at Felix and smiled at the way his hair was falling in his eyes, the way one arm was outstretched possessively around the pillow he had curled his body around, that he was long gone and in love with this man. This man he could never have.

That knowledge hurt far more than he cared to admit. 

With a sigh he moved to the side of the bed. Time to stop dwelling in what he couldn't have and reach out to touch the illusion that would slip through his fingers soon enough. 

Slowly Locus sat himself on the side of the bed and for half a moment he found his hand almost ghosting over Felix's jaw, almost trailing over his neck. That was something he had no right to do, and a mistake he wasn't going to make again. So instead he steeled himself and touched Felix. Nothing that could begin to be construed as intimate. Just a soft touch on Felix's shoulder and a gentle shaking.

What he hadn't expected, of course, was what a spectacle watching Felix wake would be. The other man came awake like he was pulling himself out of a thick mud, a slow and laborious process. It started with those beautiful eyes opening, blinking a few times, and then moved on to them closing fully. With a sigh Locus shook him again, a touch firmer. That, at least, seemed to catch Felix's attention at last, and Locus had to stand as Felix truly began to move.

Movement that, apparently was limited to Felix lifting his head and yawning before he pulled the comforter up around his shoulders. 

“Morning,” Felix mumbled, and the sleep in his voice was almost enough to make Locus smile fondly down at him. “What time is it?” 

He must have seen the amusement Locus knew must be plain on his own face, because then Felix was stretching and slowly sitting up, his fingers combing back through his hair. If it was an effort by the other man to tame his hair, Locus couldn't believe there was any process made. If anything the sleep tousled hair had only started to stick up in new and even more interesting ways from the attention. 

There was just another split second of the beautiful, sleepy look on Felix's face before a spark of something, recognition maybe, passed over Felix's face and he looked truly awake. 

“Oh god, today is the day, isn't it?”

“Yes,” Locus confirmed, backing further from the bed. “It is that. In fact, it's nearly six in the morning of 'the day.' You are, of course, welcome to return to sleep.” 

There was, of course, no reason Felix had to be up this early, other than his insistence that Locus awaken him. Really, the groan he could see building up in Felix was his own damn fault.

“I recommend awakening before ten if you want any ability to roam about in your current, tousled state without outsiders seeing you. I am off to make breakfast, if you are interested. It would allow us a chance to review before we begin our little game.”

“Ugh,” Felix groaned, as expected, as he hopped out of the bed. Locus had to take another quick step backward to get out of the way as Felix's arms pinwheeled through the air as he sought balance. Which wasn't surprising considering the fact that Locus could see one of Felix's feet tangled still in the blankets. “I'll, uh, meet you downstairs.”

Locus was left to stand there, laughing to himself, as Felix finally extracted himself from the blanket and stumbled to the bathroom door. Not that he let the laughter actually pass his lips until the bathroom door was closed and he could hear the shower running. Then, shaking his head, Locus turned and headed out of the bedroom. He did, after all, want that breakfast. Truth be told, he wasn't sure how he would handle the day without at least a good meal in him. And one he had made for himself. 

It used to be that the only thing Locus could do while he was cooking was think about everything but what he was supposed to be doing. While he cracked eggs his thoughts would be on earnings reports. When he grated cheese he would contemplate a coming hiring freeze for the rest of the fiscal year. It had been easier when he was a child, easier to just give himself fully over to the cooking, which was exactly what Locus did not. It was still hard to get himself into the frame of mind where the only thing that concerned him was the consistency of his beaten eggs, but moments like this made him thankful for that focus.

Or, at least, it would have if his attention hadn't been fully caught up in pulling out pans, checking his eggs, and pulling out ingredient after ingredient. As it was he barely even noticed the passing of time until he was looking up at the sound of footsteps coming toward his domain. And what a sight he was rewarded with, his 'husband' with wet hair clearly meant to be swept back into Felix's normal suave style for these sorts of jobs, and yet there it was laying a bit flat from how wet it was. Better than that, there was that orange silk robe draped over his shoulders and showing off those beautiful, shapely legs. For a moment Locus's attention was caught up in imagining Felix wearing nothing at all under that material, a thought quickly thrust away when Felix's step up into the kitchen area revealed a brief glimpse of shorts. 

“Okay, so... let's talk about today,” Felix greeted him and Locus watched as the other man immediately shuffled to his spot on the counter from the night before and immediately lifted himself to sit there once more. 

“Of course,” Locus answered, quickly grabbing a glass and the orange juice to pour Felix a drink. He didn't continue until he'd pressed the glass into Felix's hand and earned a grin from it. “AS I said, my plans are to leave around two to pick up the guests. You are welcome to join me if you so desire. But you would likely be better off with solid land under your feet today. Oh, how do you like omelets?”

“Surprise me,” Felix smiled and sipped his glass, and with that Locus turned his attention back to preparation rather than the vision of this man in his life. “I'm not picky and you cook so well, so surprise me. But yeah, I'd definitely rather wait here. Fuck the sea. But... uh, won't...”

Felix trailed off and Locus looked up briefly from dicing some onion to gaze at him in confusion. The other man was looking away, through one of the large kitchen windows and out toward the beach and sea. Maybe he had a distant look in his eyes, but Locus couldn't be sure as Felix was, in fact, looking away from him. What went on in that beautiful head, he wondered before returning his attention to the dicing. What did Felix think of this whole situation?

“Will the house helper people be here too? And Doyle?”

Locus's hand paused for a moment before he turned, carrying his work on it's cutting board over to the stove. It meant turning his back to Felix, but he didn't mind that. There was a distinct pleasure in feeding someone you loved. 

“Yes, the staff will be arriving at ten. Doyle will be here soon. I ask that you not harass him too much. He is is the be all, end all man in charge of this event. And my life. So I ask that you not cross him. I would be the one to suffer for it.”

Except he doubted that. Doyle liked Felix far too much for the fact that they had never met before. Something about him being a 'good influence' whenever Doyle referenced him. Well, it was what it was, and he was just going to have to live with the ire of his secretary when Felix left tomorrow.

“I'll be sure to stay out of his way then,” Felix observed from behind him as Locus measured out the material for the first omelet and began preparing it. “Is there anything else? Any last minute details I should know about? I think I'm pretty good to go if nothing changes. Well, I guess we'll find out when the party hits. What do I wear?”

Felix was babbling, and Locus smiled to himself as he realized that. It was interesting, to note that this man had such a basic weakness when he was such a good actor, so good at separating himself from, well, himself. Except Felix wasn't playing a role at this moment. Maybe they would both be better off if they were. But he wasn't sure if the Felix he 'married' would dare nudge his leg with a foot to try and prompt him to speak. He'd like to think his husband would be more forward than that. He knew Lily was, and she wasn't even anything to him. 

Yet. 

And there was a shudder inducing thought. 

“I am sure you brought something suitably tasteful with you,” Locus assured him, sprinkling filling into the omelet in the pan and folding it into perfect thirds before sliding it onto a plate and holding it out to Felix. Once it was in the other man's hands he returned his attention to the pan, intent upon his own breakfast. “There are no last minute details that I know of, but I suppose Doyle could change that when he arrives. It is, after all, not yet the last minute.”

“It's gonna be fun, don't you think?” Locus heard around mouthfuls of food. “I love pretending to be someone I'm not. It's even more fun watching people react to shit you say when you know it's complete bullshit.”

Yes, that did seem to be quite a bit like Felix, Locus thought to himself as he finished preparing his own meal. He carefully and quickly moved his mess to the sink, and carried his plate to the table, which Felix clearly followed him to grudgingly after he took his own plate out of his lap. Locus, on the other hand, wondered what it was going to be like to 'lie' to their guests the way he would have to. 

For him it wasn't complete bullshit. The specifics would be wrong, but the emotion behind them, the sentiment, it was still there, right? Maybe he should learn to enjoy telling so much of the truth in his lies to find as much fun in this evening as Felix seemed about to have. One last hurrah before it was over. 

They stay silent for most of the breakfast, something Locus appreciated because it wasn't an awkward kind of silence. More of a comfortable one. That still, of course, had Felix playing footsie with him under the table, but that was probably just because Felix was trying to draw a reaction from him, and Locus wasn't giving in to that as much as he wanted to. 

Honestly, the voice calling from the patio door, Doyle's voice, was a welcome distraction. Locus left Felix to scoop the dishes into the sink as he moved to the door to greet his secretary and not-quite friend. 

“And here I thought you had abandoned me,” Locus teased quietly as he shook Doyle's hand. 

“As if I could ever do that,” Doyle returned immediately. “I fear you would be useless without me. How you survived before I was brought under your direct employ is truly a question for the ages.”

“You know I figured out how to tie my shoes on my own,” Locus sighed. Sometimes he forgot how disrespectful Doyle could get. Not that he cared. 

“Is your... companion here?”

Leave it for Doyle to imply so much and so little with a single word. Locus sighed and stood aside as he heard Felix come up behind him. 

“Felix, this is Donald Doyle. Doyle, Felix.”

“It is so nice to finally meet you in person, sir,” Doyle greeted Felix, his voice overly enthused and the hand shake Locus observed far too vigorous for the situation. But, then again, Felix was their point of disagreement these days, wasn't he?

“Likewise,” Felix answered, his own tone amused. 

There was a look, fleeting, that flashed over Doyle's face, and Locus just shot him a glare over Felix's shoulder. Whatever came with that look was something that Locus didn't want the man voicing. And sure enough Doyle pulled away from Felix and strode past both of them, tsking as he went and let his eyes cast about. 

“Dear me, it truly is so messy in here.”

“It... doesn't seem like that to me,” Felix said, looking to Locus in bafflement. Locus just shook his head and sighed before returning his attention to Doyle. 

“No, I assure you it is. There are still sheets over the furniture I can see from here. And dear me is it stuffy and dusty in here. I'm sure you've aired it out the best you can, sir, but there is so much more that needs done. Oh dear me. Sir, I fear I must call the staff in now. I hope that is acceptable.”

Locus watched in shock as Doyle produced a phone from somewhere as if by magic, clearly already prepared to bring the chaos down about them. “Is there a reason we can't hold off for another hour or a few?”

The look Doyle gave him, scandalized shock, just made Locus sigh. Fine. Apparently they couldn't. “Alright. Rally your troops if you think it's that bad. I suppose it wouldn't be proper to ask people to avoid rooms that have things still covered? There just hasn't been a reason to use those for years. Or even the ones we'll be using now for that matter.”

Another scandalized look, this time mixed with mild horror. 

“Remember, sir, that the people you invited will be nosy and poke their heads around. I will make sure that the staff stays out of areas where they are not allowed, and I will mark said areas carefully, but you must allow me to do this. I will soon have this under control. But yes, we shall need the extra time, as this place is quite large and worse than I had expected. The sooner we begin, the better.”

Locus looked to Felix, catching the other man mouthing the word 'wow' at him. All he could do in the face of all of this was sigh and wave Doyle away. “Fine. Deal with it as you see fit, Doyle. And at least this place is not as large as the house. We'd need a week minimum to prep that, even with the state we keep it in. In the mean time, I don't want to be in the way. If you need me for anything, you know how to reach me.”

Doyle nodded before finally making his call, and Locus turned his attention more fully to his companion. 

“Well, dear, would you like to help Doyle, or will you be hiding out with me while the bustle happens?”

“Yeah, no, I'll be hiding,” Felix laughed immediately. His eyes flickered briefly to Doyle and he nodded. “Definitely hiding. So... what do we do until two?” 

It was easy to see that the other man was edging his way back toward the bedroom already, and Locus gestured for Felix to proceed him, trailing after him immediately. “I suppose I could keep you company, or keep out of your hair if you desire. Either way I should review the file again, even if only in brief, I suppose.”

“We'll be in each others' hair all day. May as well just get started with it,” Felix observed quietly, but not so quietly that Locus couldn't hear it. Still, he turned around and walked backwards a few steps, beaming at Locus. “Smile, love. We'll be doing lots of it, or I will at least.”

“I suppose at least you don't have nearly as much hair to get into,” Locus chuckled to himself, catching Felix's hand as he sped up to pass him, pulling Felix to face forward again. Once they're far enough down the hallway for him to feel comfortable he paused and pulled Felix's hand to his lips to kiss his knuckles. “I'm not that big on smiling, but I'll try for you.”

* * * * * *

The kiss made Felix pause. Sure, he recovered quickly, squeezing Locus's hand and letting himself be led back to the safety and seclusion of Locus's bedroom, but that didn't mean he was used to this. The idea of them being affectionate, being sweet, being loving was still an idea he had to get through his head. It was one thing to have it when there were a hundred thousand lookers or whatever real number it was. It was even different last night when he'd been caught up in the moments they had spent together. But right now, a little kiss like that for nothing more than a joke? Where did that kind of affection even come from?

“Well,” he managed to answer, resisting the urge to draw his hand from Locus's as he was pulled along, “it's a damn fucking good thing I am. I make you look good.”

Not that Locus didn't look damn good on his own. 

“You do?” Locus smirked as he pulled them into the room and shut the door. “I was under the impression that I made myself look good and you just served to make me look approachable.”

Free of the potential for viewers, Felix let his hand drop from Locus's. With a sigh he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching for the folder that rested on the bedside table. “I do that too. Actually... no, I make you look ten times better. Approachable and better looking than before. Trust me. It's my fucking specialization.”

Along with, apparently, falling for the handsome asshole he was never going to work for again. With a frown he flipped the folder open and started glancing aimlessly over the papers. “So, I was gonna make up bullshit stories about us, assuming people ask. To cover things like 'what did you to do for your honeymoon' and 'tell us about the wedding' and that sort of shit. That cool with you?”

He looked up and saw a pensive look on Locus's face. It looked good there. Really, he could already imagine Locus behind that massive desk in his office, leaning back just slightly in his chair and looking at the ceiling as he considered some big decision or another. How much fun would it be to take that look from his face? Maybe he could kiss it off. Maybe in that office he could fall to his knees in front of Locus's desk and bring him right back down to earth in all the best ways. 

Remarkably, he didn't flush at that thought. Managed to keep his face cool as he continued. “I usually make shit up on the spot, so if I do make up something, I'll make sure you know about it. Sound okay?”

“Of course,” Locus readily agreed. “I don't tend to tell stories, so contradictions shouldn't be an issue.” 

Felix watched silently as the other man—his employer and he would do well to remember that—crossed to the bed and sat down next to Felix. Like, right next to Felix. Like thighs pressed together and his own body picking up some of Locus's heat close. Why did that make him want to blush? Why was he so hungry for that contact? 

“I doubt anything exciting would have happened for our wedding,” Locus continued as if he didn't know what he was doing to Felix, and to be fair maybe he didn't. “I would have wanted it to be something private. Quiet. I imagine we didn't leave the room much during our honeymoon. I admit I wouldn't have let you far from my reach.”

“I'll say,” Felix mumbled to himself, amused.

God what an image. But no, this was a professional conversation they were having, as racy as it felt. So Felix sat up a bit and cleared his throat to put on his work voice. Only too easy to imagine he was having a conversation with Mrs. Johnson, the woman hanging on his every word. “Oh, it was just a small thing. He and I aren't very social people when it comes to that. I know, right? Especially me, as hard as that may be to believe. But it was fine, just a simple this and that. There weren't many pictures I'm afraid. Nothing fancy for the honeymoon either. Just a night in. Oh, we might be doing something else a bit more along the way. It's not that important is it?”

At last he looked back to Locus, raising an eyebrow. “Or something like that, right?”

“Are you sure you're not a lawyer,” Locus chuckled in response. “Your doubt talk is quite effective. You say a lot, yet give away little.”

Felix took a moment to think, frowning. “I guess I can be anything I want to be, so I was told growing up, and whoever said that was right. I'm a different person depending on how I'm paid.”

Locus nodded in response to that, silent for a moment as he got that pensive look back on his face. Finally he spoke again, and Felix wondered what could require so much thought. “So... where would you have wanted me to take you on a honeymoon? Or where would we go in the future, if we had 'something else a bit more along the way'?”

“Uh... fuck if I know,” Felix admitted, biting his lip. He should have a detail for that for the story. “Probably somewhere not in the city. Off planet maybe? I'm not even fucking sure. I guess this place would be nice.”

His eyes darted around, trying to figure out why he liked it so much, beyond the obvious. 

“Honestly, I have no idea. I never thought much about where I would go. I guess it's sorta like not knowing what to eat at breakfast. I don't know. Surprise me. Where would you have taken us on our 'honeymoon'?” 

There, the buck didn't have to stop with him. Besides, stories were better when built together. So he smiled as he pulled his legs up onto the bed, crossing them as he put the folder down in his lap. Maybe that meant more pressure against his leg and more warmth from Locus, but despite the heat he couldn't find it in himself to complain. This silk robe, and his shorts, weren't doing much to hide the feel of Locus's body against his and he liked that. Maybe while Locus thought he could have a few moments to just daydream about this all being real. 

“I would have brought you here,” Locus answered far faster than Felix had expected. It was almost instant. He'd barely gotten comfortable, and there those lovely lips were, plowing on ahead. 

“A week here, just you and I. No staff, no party. Just lazy days and long nights. You'd wear nothing but that robe and your stupidly beautiful smile,” Locus continued, his voice as distant as his eyes seemed to be when Felix looked to him. “It's a private place, would allow us time to get to know one another better, and would give you a chance to adjust to the idea that everything that was mine is yours.”

All Felix could do was stare at Locus, silent and thoughtful. Well, that and try and ignore the way his chest tightened and how his lips curved in a rueful smile despite himself. “Sounds nice. I'll be sure to keep that in mind of someone presses for more.”

Again he puts on the voice, just to remind himself this is a job, to distance himself from the man he's in physical contact with and whose words had just left his heart pounding. “It was just a hazy week, you know? Locus is quite affectionate when it calls for it, but of course you have only seen him in meeting rooms and conferences. Well then, yes, it was really nice. I would said more, but again, we're quite private people. Though I'm sure you will let your imaginations run. I would love to here what you think happened if we're on the topic of gos....”

Truth be told, he's so caught up in ignoring the presence beside him, in reminding himself that this is all for a kind of pay day, that he doesn't notice said presence moving. Not until he was mid breath, words stolen from him as Locus leaned in and kissed him. Kissed him so that his breath was gone completely and his hands were moving on their own, cupping Locus's face in them to hold him there, to touch him, to kiss him back. 

In the back of his mind he can hear his own voice yelling. Shouting 'wrong wrong wrong' over and over and over. 'What the fuck are you doing, Felix' that voice demanded, and god help him he brushed it away. There was no point for it when he's pressing back, a bit too eager and frustratingly overjoyed at this contact yet again. What was it about Locus that meant they kept doing this, kept kissing, kept drawing back together? Why was his body so eager to ignore his mind?

And god was he not hyper-aware of Locus now, for all that he had been ignoring the man moments before. How could he not notice the long fingers that plucked the file from his lap and tossed it aside. Or the firm, strong hands that lowered him back on the bed, or the lips that kissed pressed against his with more force, moved against his with more heat. Kissed until Felix felt like his lungs were going to explode because he'd stopped breathing in his shock and it wasn't like it got any better like this. 

At last Locus pulled back and Felix drew in a shaking breath as he looked up at the man looking down at him. The desire on his face, the longing in his eyes, was clear and mind numbingly perfect. And those lips... God why did they have to move to form words rather than kiss him again?

“I think, in this moment, I would want to please my husband,” Locus said, his words slow and carefully measured to the point where Felix thought he could feel physical weight in them. “To... calm his nerves before meeting our guests.”

Yeah, there he was, right back to holding his breath from shock, staring up at Locus. It wasn't like he could answer out loud, speechless as he was, so instead he just looked a bit down at Locus's chest, letting his hand slide up over his shirt, slow and unsure. At last he swallowed thickly, half-smiled and and spoke, still unable to meet Locus's gaze.

“Your... husband wouldn't mind that. I'd imagine. He'd probably want you to, um, just do what makes you happy,” he murmured quietly, barely hearing himself. Each word has him inwardly saying 'no, no, no' to himself, but he said it anyway, and he felt like he meant it. Wished he could be that theoretical husband and say that for real. 

“You'd tell me if I stretched the favor too far, wouldn't you Felix?” Locus asked, even as his fingers picked at the tie on Felix's robe. Felix let his eyes fall to the strip of shiny orange silk, watched it slide over itself with a quiet rasp until it was falling apart. And then Locus's hand was pressing the cloth open and sliding down his thigh, over his shorts. And through all of that, somehow Locus was still talking, while Felix just laid there, trying to figure out what he even wanted. “I wouldn't want to add another favor to the list simply because I can't keep my hands to myself.”

“We agreed on the number,” Felix muttered, “so call this... uh, a complimentary gift.” 

At last he let out a shaking breath as that hand slipped slowly up the not tight enough fabric of the leg of his shorts, letting skin brush over skin. That more than anything prompted Felix to look up at Locus, made something in him make up his hand. His own hands moved up and his arms wrapped around Locus's neck, pulling him down to press their lips together again. If he didn't kiss Locus right then and there, he'd back out and dear god he didn't want that.

Leave it to Locus to take the offer and run with it, Felix thought as the kiss quickly escalated to deep and passionate, almost more intimate than the one they had shared in Locus's apartment. Hell, that wasn't even the only pressing forward that Locus did because Felix could feel that hand wandering over his leg stop it's exploration and get straight to the point. Which meant, of course, that it moved between his legs to palm over him, and Felix practically keened against Locus's lips at the sensation. Lips that were barely there the next moment, just the ghost of pressure against his lips. 

“Gifts... aren't your style, Felix. But I've been thinking about this since the last time, so I won't turn it away.”

All Felix could do was exhale and try to ignore the something pulsing deep inside himself that screamed that he desperately wanted this, wanted more than this. That hand on him hadn't stopped, a slow pressure that rocked against him and massaged him through the fabric, and it was driving him crazy. Maybe it was because he did want it, or because he was crazy, or maybe it was just because it had been so long since that time. That one and only encounter of theirs. 

“Well,” he gasped out, his hips jerking up and pressing against that hand, “for a long time client I feel like, ah shit! Fuck, it's only polite. God, Locus.”

He didn't even know when his hands had ended up tangled in the bottom of Locus's shirt, but lord help him he was pulling on it. It needed off, and it needed to happen then. 

“I doubt all you long time clients earn such boons from you,” Locus chuckled breathily against his lips and Felix wanted to shout, or at least bite him because that hand was gone from between his legs and instead peeling Felix's frustrated hands from Locus's shirt. But then the hand was back on him, both of the hands really, one on each hip.

Felix yelped in shock as he was practically dragged to the edge of the bed, his legs left to dangle over the side as Locus's nimble fingers undid his pants and pulled them down. Some part of his head took stock of where they were tossed, soon followed by his boxers before Locus was spreading his legs and kneeling on the floor. His head lifted a bit to stare at the other men, dizzy with desire before Locus settled between his legs and then all thought was gone. The witty words that had tried to leap from his lips were swallowed back as Locus's tongue lapped over him until the head of his cock was in Locus's mouth. At that point, who cared what he had to say? 

Instead he gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth because like hell he was going to make noise. Doyle and the staff were literally in shouting distance, and the fact that he remembered that was probably a miracle considering how his legs were shaking as Locus bobbed slowly over him. And that motion got his free hand into Locus's hair, so perfectly tied up and soon to be a mess, and god it was nice to tug at it.

All he got for his efforts was a chuckle and Locus pulling off of him like some evil fucking torturing bastard who didn't understand how blowjobs were supposed to work. Still, he looks down at Locus with frustration and gets an amused quirk of Locus's lips in return. 

“Felix... the hired help thinks we're married. Doyle is helping with the charade. Why in the world would you keep quiet? Having the gossip later could only help the story.”

The asshole followed that by licking slowly up Felix, base to tip, and then wrapping his mouth around Felix again, and Felix couldn't help but laugh. 

“Shit, I don't know, maybe I have modesty. I guess you'll have to get me not to ca- fucking hell what you do with your mouth!”

It was meant to be teasing, and by the end Felix was whispering. Truth be told he shouldn't be so hard, but he was, and he wanted so, so much more than this, wanted to repeat their previous encounter, but that would be too much, wouldn't it? Yet there he was anyway, moaning as Locus hummed in response, moving down to take more of Felix into his mouth even as his hand stroked the rest of him. How could he not shake and move and gasp as Locus stroked over him with mouth and tongue and hand, while his free hand started rubbing up and down Felix's thigh lightly, even as his fingers dug into skin each time Locus sucked. How hard could he try to keep himself in control, how much could Felix tell himself not to lose it with those hands and that mouth and the way he could already feel it building up in himself.

It's a minute or an hour or an eternity before his hand came to scrabble at the sheets, and his teeth sink into the meat of his palm while he tried not to scream. He didn't know how long really. The only period of time in his head is how long it had been since he'd had sex in any form, and the answer came back to the gorgeous man between his legs. If that alone didn't say just how fucked he was, Felix didn't know what did. 

Before he knew it his hand was tearing away from his mouth and he was letting out a moan that he was louder than he'd expected. It was like the sound bounced off the walls, echoed right back to him. Which, in the end, was probably appropriate for how long Locus had been working him over, how single minded and devoted the other man had been to the task. And god he was dedicated, Felix could feel that as he came hard, his whole body jerking, his hips lifting off the bed as he pressed up onto the tips of his toes and further into Locus's mouth as his whole body shook, vibrated in pleasure. 

At last he was left gasping for breath, his hand coming up to pet and caress Locus's face as he felt the man swallow around him, drinking him down and not stopping moving as his tongue stroked over Felix's over-sensitized length.

“Fuck, Locus,” he whispered, trying to ignore the way his hands stroked over Locus's skin, combed through his long since torn loose of it's tie hair, and god if he couldn't pick out the endearingly sweet edge to his own touch. He would never touch anyone else like that, so why Locus?

“Thank you,” Locus chuckled when he pulled away, and Felix tried not to think too much as the man strode off. “I enjoyed my gift. Quite a bit.”

Felix huffed out a laugh as he stared up at the ceiling. “Figured... your gift should, uh, be me sucking you off.” 

God why was the idea of that so overwhelmingly perfect? No, better not to think about it and put words to it, especially since as he lifted his head he could see Locus already returning with his clothes. He let Locus thread his legs through his boxers and pull them back up, even finding the energy to lift his hips to get them on properly. He waved the shorts off though. Better to get into real pants later. 

“But, you know, if that worked too, then okay.” Still, he smiled at Locus as he sat up. “I... could anyway.” 

Maybe he was still just buzzing from the post-orgasm haze, but he loved that feeling, and didn't think for a moment that he would do anything other than enjoy giving Locus the same feeling.

“Relax,” Locus chuckled, leaving Felix puzzled as he watched Locus walk away to instead go to the chair in the corner of the room where Felix remembered him reading last night. “As I said, I would want to please my husband to calm his nerves. I said nothing about expecting, or wanting, anything in return.”

This man made no sense. Not a since cent in his god forsaken fortune was made. Okay, maybe that sentence didn't make sense either but fuck if Felix cared. Instead he just looked at the mess Locus had made by tossing the folder and it's documents aside. “Yeah. I'm sure your husband would appreciate such a gesture.”

With that he got off of the bed and pulled his shorts back on. It was easier than saying 'good thing I'm not your husband' but he was pretty sure his tone had carried that on its own. He hoped. Right now, though, right now he needed to get out of here. Get a moment to breathe and get his head on straight. 

“I'm... going to go see if Doyle needs help, dear. Make sure the house is still in one piece and all that.”

With that he through the door, mentally kicking himself for that moment of weakness and what it was making him feel in the aftermath. Not that it helped much being out there. The second he ran into Doyle the man started giving him a look that screamed 'you shouldn't be here.' Except somehow Doyle managed to do it in a way that was exceedingly polite. Frustratingly polite. Which meant Felix had no where else to go but back up to his room, because Doyle expressly forbid him form going outside to drag more sand into the beach house. 

And that one place meant opening the door of the bedroom almost half an hour later and finding Locus sitting there in the corner chair, reviewing his own file quietly as if nothing had happened between them. 

“Okay,” Felix sighed as he closed the door behind him, “Doyle is fucking something else. The whole staff is like... he's just good. Where do I get one like him?” 

He can play the civil game too. The cold professional. The 'that didn't happen' game. Better than Locus even. He can probably even do it while slipping into his role, because it was already nearing the time where Locus would have to head out to pick up their guests. 

“Have enough wealth to own a lunar colony somewhere,” Locus suggested, smiling and Felix just rolled his eyes. “To be honest? His employee evaluations before I... scooped him up from one of my juniors, were always exemplary except for the note that he was a bit over enthusiastic in attempting to assist the management of his superior's lives. I, as it is, need such assistance.”

“Well, I'm glad it worked out for both of you,” Felix observed, heading to his luggage to pull out his nice slacks and dress shirt. “Don't think I'd want one, though. Even if I could get one.”

He devoted all of his attention to pulling on changing with his back to Locus, and not thinking about how maybe the asshole's eyes would be looking over his skin, no, licking over his skin with a hunger. 

“He says we'll be ready when you get back. Until then I'm to,” Felix cleared his throat and intimated Doyle's voice near perfectly he thought, “stay out of the way lest I desire to lose a finger or two.”

“Whatever you do, Felix, never go near my business,” Locus's voice chuckled behind him. “I'm afraid you'd stage a hostile take over simply using the fact that people have learned to jump when Doyle instructs them one way or another.”

There was a moment of silence as Felix pulled on his pants, and then Locus was talking again. “I'm... sorry this is going to take so long. I should have opted to do this at the house rather than here. I just felt it more... comfortable to come to the island.”

“Don't worry,” Felix sighed as he turned around, fully dressed but still straightening his shirt, “I have no intention of crossing ways with your business. And don't worry.”

No, more than that. He had to get this right. Now that he was dressed he needed to be in character with Locus, which meant crossing to him and catching Locus's hands in his, squeezing them lightly. “Babe, I believe in you, and you know I don't care what you have to do or what you choose. Just do it. I'll be here to support you tonight, and whenever else you need.”

The words are soft, softer for the smile, but he can see in the way that Locus smiles back at him warmly that it's enough. 

“I could get quite used to your support. Your disarming charm creates many openings for me that I never expect to find.”

“How could I not support my man the go-getter?” Felix asked, grinning up at Locus, full on role finally in place. “We're doing to do fabulously tonight. Now go and grab those guests of ours. I'll be here, waiting for you.”

“I like the thought of you waiting for me,” Locus whispered, and Felix closed his eyes as the other man leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against Felix's lips. “Will you see me to the dock?”

“Of course,” Felix smiled as his eyes opened, and while he took one hand from Locus's grip, he laced the fingers of their other hands together. 

It was disarming, how easy it was to do this. How easy it was for him to just be Locus's husband in that moment. Together they walk quietly through the house, and Felix almost feels like he's floating, like a newlywed rightly should. They barely even pause to tell Doyle they're leaving for the docks, still hand and hand, and the whole way they they chatted idly about little things. 

At last they made the wood of the dock and Felix pulled them to a stop. Predictably Locus turned to face him, to smile down at him. 

“I know it's just across the way, but still, be careful. Would... you like me to wait here for you, or to meet you back at the house?”

“You don't need to wait for me,” Locus chuckled, pulling Felix into a gentle embrace. “No way to be sure how long I'll be gone or when exactly I'll be back. Do your best to entertain yourself while I'm gone, love.”

Their kiss, of course they kissed, was chaste once again, and somehow it left Felix yearning more as Locus pulled away than anything else before that moment had. Felix was left standing there on the planks of the dock as he watched Locus turn and walk away. He stood there, watching as the boat moved away from the island.

And as he went, long before Felix turned back and headed to the house, he found himself longing after the man. The worst part, he thought, was that he thought maybe he wanted that moment to be a little more real.


	9. The Main Event

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we keep on moving. We're heading toward the home stretch I promise.

Truth be told there wasn't much chance to think on the way back to mainland. It wasn't that he didn't have much he wanted to think about, almost all of it involving Felix, but the last thing he wanted was to dig himself a deeper pit with that one. For instance he could dwell over what happened in the bedroom between them, that moment of weakness that had been so wonderful. He couldn't help but think he could still taste Felix on his tongue, and while the thought was interesting, having done this trip as many times as he had wouldn't guarantee he could do it while unfocused. So Locus just focused on managing the massive yacht on the way back to the docks where their guests would be waiting. 

Sure enough they were there when he arrived, or so he assumed from the small group of limos sitting in the distant parking lot. Part of him wanted to just turn around and head back to the island and the beautiful man he had left behind him, leaving these interlopers here and letting Felix just relax. Which, of course, would just mean the whole weekend had no point to it. How would he explain that to Felix? 

With a sigh Locus finally jumped to the dock and headed up them toward the shore. Before he made it all the way out there the doors of the limos started to open, and before Locus had a chance to steal himself Lily was extracting herself from the solitary snow-white limousine and sashaying toward him. Locus wanted to grab the woman by her shoulders and shake her for what she was wearing, which started with a form-fitting white cocktail dress and was topped off with white stilettos. Was the woman completely daft? Already Locus could tell that she was going to have trouble walking over the planking of the docks, not to mention keeping herself stable walking over the sandy path to the house on the island. Why did she have to be so foolish?

“Locus!” she cooed, reaching out and pulling him into her arms. It was an overly familiar gesture given the situation, especially with how she kissed his cheeks. Still, she didn't cling to him too long, and Locus breathed a sigh of relief and took a step back when she released him. 

“Miss Johnson,” he greeted her properly, taking her hand and bowing slightly over it. With anyone else he would have brushed his lips over the back of their hand, meaning to charm, but something like that would be taken poorly by this woman. There was plenty of time until he would have to treat her the way she would desire of him. Until then he intended to keep the space between them professional. 

When he moved past her to meet her mother he could hear the annoyed sound, the stomp of her shoe on the pavement, but Locus ignored her and continued forward to meet the older woman before him. Joyce smiled warmly up at him, and Locus didn't hesitate to skip the polite greeting to instead hug Joyce to him. If nothing else, working with her over the years had made them close, and this chance to meet her outside of any professional or societal function made him quite happy to greet the old woman with the firm hug. 

“Ah, Locus,” she smiled softly as she pulled back and gestured her driver forward. The suited man held out a long, thin box that Locus knew was going to hold a bottle of some expensive wine. “I found this old thing in our wine cellar and decided it would better serve a young man like you who would truly appreciate it.”

“You are too kind,” Locus smiled, taking it from her and leaning down to kiss her cheek. “If it fits with tonight's meal, I will have it served to us and only us.”

“Not even your husband?” she chuckled, covering her mouth politely with her hand. 

“Felix, sadly, doesn't appreciate fine wines quite so well as this will likely merit,” Locus answered with a smile. “Now, if you will forgive me, I have to greet my other guests before I show you all to my yacht. I do believe I'll have some treats for you to munch on as well. There should be...”

He trailed off and nodded as a pair of men in uniforms climbed out of a familiar supply truck and moved to carry some coolers down the docks. 

“If I'm not mistaken, those gentlemen are bringing fresh supplies on board, and the last thing they bring on should be supplies for me to make you a nice mimosa,” Locus offered, and Joyce smiled, nodding in agreement. 

“Don't worry, dear, I understand your responsibilities,” Joyce laughed, shaking her head. “In fact, I'll ask those gentlemen to escort me and Lily down to your boat and we'll get ourselves settled while you greet the others.”

Locus smiled thankfully at her and moved aside to greet the others present. Soon enough he had managed to meet with the other visitors, spare them a bit of time for pleasant chit-chat, and had shuffled everyone to the yacht. Another half an hour had to be spent getting them situated, giving out anti-nausea medications to those who might need it, making drinks, and sorting out the foods and instructions before Locus was free to cast off. Once they were moving, he thought, he would be free to relax, to enjoy the last moments he had to relax before the act was on in full. 

What he hadn't expected, and probably should have, was the sound of footsteps on the stairs behind him about half an hour off of shore. Given the way they clicked heavily, Locus was certain of who it was, and that was a bit foreboding. 

“Locus, dear,” Lily's voice wafted up to him. It was too much to ask, apparently, that the wind would catch it and carry it away, sparing him the noise and the encounter that was undoubtedly about to happen. 

“It really is better for you to be in the cabin, Miss Johnson,” Locus observed as he listened to her walking up behind him. 

“But then I wouldn't be at your side,” Lily's voice whispered in his ear, and Locus had to be careful not to jerk the wheel at her voice so close. How in the world had she gotten that close? “Don't you want me close?”

Fingers brushed over his neck, and Locus had to admit that he flinched at that. Not that the action made the touch go away. No, Lily's hands continued around his neck, slowly sliding around until her fingers were brushing over his collar, her other arm wrapping around him from behind. Of course, Lily being Lily that wasn't nearly enough for her. Locus grit his teeth and steeled himself as the arm wrapped around him found it's hand settled over his stomach and sliding downward.

That was the last straw. Locus tore a hand from the wheel to grab Lily's wrist and pull her hand away from him. Nor did he stop there. Locus actually growled as he pulled Lily up beside him, thus tearing her other hand away from him. Lily stared at him with wide eyes, but the way her lips curved in satisfaction as she faced him said she thought this was more than Locus knew it was supposed to be. Damn the girl. 

“I like that fire you have, Locus,” Lily purred, her voice pitched low and to what he thought she must see as sultry. All it did was make his skin crawl. “It's wasted on that cad you...”

“Married,” Locus reminded her, voice sharp. “That man is my husband, and I am faithful to him. And I would have you remember that.”

“Oh come now,” Lily countered, snatching her hand away from him and moving to sit primly in the seat nearby. “You know I can do so much more for you than that boy. After all, there is his background to consider.”

Locus did his best not to go rigid at that reference. Assuming she knew the truth could mean a slip up that would ruin everything. Better to play dumb, or fall back on the story that they had created. Trust the story, trust Doyle, and trust that there was no way that Lily could possibly know just what Felix actually was. The only reason Doyle did, after all, was because Doyle had been the one who had found the escort in the first place. 

“And what background would that be? The one where we have knew each other most of our lives, and thus the moment we met again was perfect?” Locus asked, putting his best annoyed tone on in hopes of selling the story. 

Lily only rolled her eyes and shook her head at that. “I mean he's...”

Her pause was dramatic, weighty, as if she was inviting Locus to interrupt her and blurt something he shouldn't. As if years in the upper echelons of society would allow for that. As if he hadn't learned the hard way over the years how important it was to keep ones' tongue in the company of your equals or betters, or just around ambitious subordinates. So Locus let her have her drama, Lily did seem to revel in it in ways that other people around him did not. Well, no. Felix enjoyed it as well, but when he took the stage Locus felt like he was watching a master, not a bumbling fool. 

The very thought of his 'husband' made Locus smile warmly to himself, which must have annoyed Lily or something, for she quickly got to her feet, hands on her hips and lips pouted as she finally continued. 

“He's a nothing, Locus. No value, no wealth brought to your enterprises, nothing but a pretty face and a manner that works well with other people. Whereas I'm worth tons, I know this sort of business well, I have contacts that could send your business through the roof. Together we're not just a power couple, we're a force to be reckoned with that would make the better part of this planet bow to us, especially after mother passes on,” Lily told him, voice fiery and eyes dancing with intent. 

That actually made him laugh. Yes, one day he would do just that. For now, though, he had other intentions. And those involved Felix, until such time as he couldn't do anything with the other man anymore. God help him, he wanted that to be a very long time from now, even as unlikely as that was. 

“I didn't marry for wealth or power, Lily,” Locus chuckled, shaking his head. “I married for something far more important than either of those things.”

“And what in the world could be more important than those?” Lily demanded. “What, does he give good head or something?”

Locus actually had to stop to stare at her in shock. Of course he could feel the heat that rose to his cheeks, and the way that made her face turn red was almost priceless, but that didn't mean the question wasn't insanely offensive. And in poor taste to be honest. The latter, at the very least, seemed to occur to her. No, not that Locus realized after a long second. The thing that was bothering her was the fact that he was reacting in a way that she read as confirming that statement. 

“You know, I'm good at...”

It was a kindness, he thought, to cut her off before she could do anything so stupid as finish that thought. So he allowed himself to give her that. 

“Love, Lily,” Locus smiled, shaking his head. “It's about love. I care for Felix deeply.”

Again she opened her mouth to protest, but Locus just shook his head, letting his reigns on his feelings for Felix slack. With that he could feel his smile growing, feel it warming his chest and soften his expression. What could he say? He was truly in love with the man. Keeping that feeling close to him as if to protect himself, Locus turned his attention to Lily, or as much of it as he could spare from his task. 

“That's all I need from him, Lily. His love, his devotion, his support, his affections. There is nothing in this world that is worth more to me than Felix is,” Locus insisted firmly. “And that, Lily, is all that matters. There is nothing you can give me that would compare.”

The woman narrowed her eyes at that, and Locus couldn't help but smirk as she flounced off, apparently not taken with his admission. Oh well, she'd have years to rub his face in it, and he would forever have the memory of the look on her face when he admitted his love to Felix to her. He would always have that. Always. 

* * * * * *

There was no end to the motion in the beach house. While Felix's first inclination upon Locus's departure some hours ago had been to retreat to the bedroom and peruse his file once more, there had been something about that room that had kept him from staying. Maybe it was the fact that it was the one he had seen the most and he needed to know his way around this place to make it seem like they had spent their time here together. Maybe it was the fact that the cleaning staff had finally come in to sort things out in there as well. Honestly, though, it had been the fact that mo natter how long he looked at the folder, he always kept looking up at the bed and remembering what had happened there and how Locus had made him feel 'just because.' That made it impossible to be in that room. 

So at some point, he didn't even remember how long ago it was, Felix had instead fled to the sunny living room—or he guessed it was the living room because it had a number of couches in it but no television to be seen—and settled himself on a couch. Since then all he had to do was watch Doyle bustle back and forth like some warped kind of metronome, calling after different members of the rushing staff. Well, at least he'd taken the time to dress up for dinner, because otherwise he'd have to give up the safe spot that no one had dared to move him from until this point. One he doubted anyone would dare to shift him from now either, seeing as this room seemed mostly gone with whatever magic people had intended for it. 

Still, boredom held him, and so when Doyle passed him again, Felix found himself calling out. 

“Hey Doyle, question. How long have you been working with Locus?”

How long shouldn't matter to him, but he still found himself compelled to find out more about Locus. He told himself he was trying to find out more about Doyle, but even that lie was pathetic right from the start. Didn't mean he didn't hold on to it with both hands. 

Doyle did freeze and look to him, tiling his head curiously. At length he shook his head, apparently unhappy with whatever answer he had come up with for himself. 

“Some years now, though I believe have quite lost count. May I ask why you're curious?”

With a sigh Felix laced his hands together over his stomach, leaning his head back on the couch. “Just wondering. So, like... in the time you've worked with him, has he ever gone out with anyone, or...?”

When he looked up at Doyle he found the man staring at him, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. “I make it a point not to look into my boss's love life, unlike...” 

The way Doyle trailed off, staring at him, said more than Felix liked before Doyle continued on. “So I can't say.”

“Okay, well... carry on then,” Felix dismissed him with a wave of his hand. 

Surprisingly enough Doyle didn't walk away. Instead he hesitated, and even stranger than that, he continued speaking. “To be honest, I do so hope you know what you're doing.”

Felix had to laugh as he gestured to the place around them. “This? This is child's play.”

The confidence was feigned, but it still seemed to convince Doyle because with that the man shook his head and continued about his business. No, wait, again he didn't do that. Seriously, what was up with the apparently indecisiveness of this man? Felix twisted his head just enough to catch Doyle in the corner of his eyes and hold him there, waiting for whatever the butler, secretary, valet man wanted to say. 

“That was not exactly what I meant. I am concerned that you...”

What he was concerned about was apparently never going to be aired because Felix got to watch Doyle's attention turn away and his eyes go huge before he was speaking again, his voice energized and excited. 

“Oh, they're here! Everyone finish up they are approaching the house!”

It was like a director calling actors to places, which of course meant it was Felix's time to shine. With a sigh he pushed to his feet, straightened his clothes, and started toward the door. He could see a group of maybe six people approaching through the massive glass windows, led of course by Locus. Part of him smiled to see Locus there, his face soft in the strong tropical light, and another part only beamed wider when he caught sight of Lily, all in white, lingering at the end of the group with a distinct pout on her face. Whether something happened on the boat or it was just the fact that she couldn't have the piece of meat she was after that put her in a sour mood Felix didn't know, but he also found himself not caring. 

Acting like the eager husband he was supposed to be Felix made for the door, smiling to himself even as he called out to Doyle. “I thought it'd take longer.”

“Regardless, they are here, and they are here now,” Doyle insisted cheerfully, hurrying the staff that wasn't needed into leaving through another door, and chiding those who were to remain into new tasks like arranging hors d'oeuvres on silver trays or pouring drinks. 

Felix sighed and straightened himself out as everyone else did productive things. Here he was, at the last possible moment before the show began, and he had nothing to do but stand here and look eager. Which he did to the best of his ability as the first nicely dressed person came out of the kitchen carrying a tray. Then all he had was to focus on the people on the deck, to listen to the warmth of Locus's low tones running an easy undercurrent to the variety of higher female voices and the few male. It sounded beautiful, like an artfully arranged performance, but Felix had no more time to ponder that as the door finally opened and Locus was stepping through, pulling Felix immediately into his arms. 

“Hello love,” Locus greeted him, and Felix only barely had time to put on a charming smile before there were lips pressed to his in a warm, but relatively chaste kiss. A show, but not too much of one then. Not that he begrudged the action, it was a change in behavior from how they normally acted at parties and thus one that Felix welcomed for the purpose of selling the show. If he hummed in pleasure at the contact it was clearly only to make it more believable, not because he loved the way Locus's hand fitted to the small of his back, or how warm that arm around him was, or how genuine it seemed to feel for the long moment until Locus pulled back. 

The annoyed huff from the back of the group did amuse him, though. Nothing like Lily's displeasure to make him happier than he already was. 

After a moment, pretending to need to catch his breath, Felix smiled at Locus. 

“Hey,” he allowed himself, honestly a touch buzzed from the kiss. Then he finally turned his attention to the other guests at the door. He smiled as he moved straight to Joyce and took her hand, shaking it warmly before kissing the back of it. “It's so good to see you, Joyce. I'm glad you were able to make it out here. It means a lot to us, really.”

“You are always so very sweet,” Joyce chuckled, and Felix had to keep himself from frowning. Locus had said something about her not doing so well, but that hadn't meant he'd expected to hear her voice so tired, or her all of her so weak. Well, maybe not too weak with how firmly she squeezed his hand. 

“Only for you,” Felix confessed, winking to punctuate it, drawing a laugh from her. That done he turned his attention to the other guests, smiling warmly. Some faces he recognized from parties, others he was certain he hadn't seen, and last of all there was Lily. 

“Lily, very nice to see you as well.”

The smile she gave him was so far from genuine that he had to wonder how no one else saw it. The strain of Lily holding it almost made it look like she was going to vibrate so hard that she'd shatter. 

“Nice home,” she answered, voice flat and annoyed. 

Her frustration made everything else seem so simple. Within moments Locus had his arm back around Felix's waist and he was being introduced to everyone in turn, sharing pleasantries that he knew were only there to serve as further entertainment for their guests of honor, the Johnsons. Everyone else was just an audience for the display of their feigned—and it certain was feigned—love for each other. An audience for a masterful play, and Felix had always thrived on a stage. 

They worked together well, Felix realized as they went through the motions of the evening. Locus was a prop, a stage dressing that showcased Felix's own smiling, self-possessed confidence that he graces them all with easily. There were almost moments where Felix thought Locus was even buying the act, because the affectionate words came more often than expected, the touches seemed to linger a bit longer, and there seemed to be more warmth to the smiles Locus gave him than ever before. Then again, Locus knew the truth of them, and everyone else was buying a story they wanted to hear. In the end they were just players, with him the charm and confidence, and Locus as the power and control. But it was enough that by the time they split up and moved among their guests independently, Felix felt like he was carrying Locus's strength about him like a shield.

It was even easy to see that the purpose was being met, because as the evening progressed he got more and more smiles from Ms. Johnson. On the other hand, there were countless dark looks Lily sent him. 

It was easy, almost too easy, to make it through until just before dinner without any real incident. Truth be told it all seemed easy until Felix pulled away from Locus, kissing his 'husband's' cheek before going to 'check up' on the work in the kitchen. 

Which, of course, was where Lily cornered him somehow alone. 

“I must know,” she said, voice low and dark, “just what do you think you're playing at?”

Part of him wondered just what had brought this up, but Felix shifted easily into an easy pose, smiling at her. “Playing at?”

For longer than he can remember he had been lying through his teeth and reading people, to the point where both were second nature. Still, the deep frown she graced him with, the arms crossed over her chest, and how she was blocking the way from the kitchen said something was about to happen. All he could do, though, was lean back against the counter, listening carefully for the guests in the other room to see if they were going to come in. 

“You'll have to be more specific, please.”

“You're an escort,” she said, the word falling like an insult from her suddenly smiling lips. “An expensive one, yeah, but an escort nonetheless. Don't you even dare deny it. I know someone who has hired you before. You don't belong here, much less at his side. So just what are you playing at? Are you just trying to convince him you care for him to get at his money, or is Locus in on this as well?”

All Felix could do was keep a pleasant smile on his face. Truth be told, he wasn't even panicking. He was a master of this sort of thing. There wouldn't be such a high demand for him if he wasn't capable of handling something like this. 

“Is that really what you think?” Felix asked quietly. “So what you're telling me is that this person who 'hired me' told you I was an escort? Because you would be surprised what people will say about others if things don't go your way. I'm sure you can relate. Ever have someone cross you and you just, I don't know, twist the truth _just_ a little bit to make it work in your benefit?” 

“I care about Locus,” Felix continued, as affronted by her statement as he was surprised by how much sincerity he found as he spoke them. It was almost like he wasn't even lying. “Whether you want to believe it or not, I do. And he cares about me too. That's all I'll say about this to you, because frankly what happens behind our closed doors is between me and my husband.”

“Twisting the truth a _little_ would be someone claiming you were good company,” Lily dismissed his protests with a wave of her hand, like she was shooing something distasteful away from her. “You're an escort, and all you care about is how much money you can get out of Locus. So tell me, _Felix,_ how much to get you to drop him here and now?”

Felix told himself that the way he was crossing his arms over his chest was because he was affronted, not because he was feeling a little uncomfortable. “Okay, let's go along with your idea, crazy as it is. What is it to you whether I am or not? Why would you care?”

“Because I don't like how he's using you to manipulate my mother,” she answered quickly. “And I have no stomach for your clearly empty displays of affection. It's annoying me and since I can't tell him to stop, I'm going to tell you.”

For a moment Felix just looked at her, running everything through his mind. Thankfully he didn't have to respond, because he heard one of the other guests approach the kitchen, smiling. 

“Apparently dinner is about to be served,” the man, something Grayson or other if Felix remembered properly and of course he did remember properly, said, freeing Felix. 

“We'll be right there,” Felix smiled, looking to Lily when they were left alone again. When he spoke next his voice was curt, dismissive, and his words chosen deliberately to neither confirm nor deny anything. “I'm sure you can handle on night for the sake of your poor mother.”

With that he pushed past her, intent on trying to corner Locus for a moment so they could speak. Of course as he passed Lily could not help but get a stupid word in edgewise. Something that Felix thought sounded like 'the old bag just needs to keel over already.' He didn't comment, just kept moving, Lily trailing after him until Felix made his way into the large dining room so he could pull Locus aside. He tried his best to hide his unease as he pulled Locus close and kissed his cheek. 

Locus, of course, took the chance to whisper quietly in his ear. “Is everything okay? I don't like her cornering you like that.”

Felix spared a moment to glance around, take stock of the situation. Finding enough people focused elsewhere, mostly trying to find seats for themselves at the table, Felix grabbed Locus's arm and pulled him back into the kitchen, far from where they might be heard if they spoke quietly like he had been doing with Lily. Once there he leaned back against a counter and started to nibble on his thumbnail.

“She knows,” he whispered. “Apparently I've been out with someone she knows. Which must have been months ago, because you've been my primary client since getting back on-planet. No one upper-crust at least.”

He stared up at Felix for a while, waiting for something to come of his statement. At last Locus sighed and shook his head, which didn't tell Felix anything dammit. 

“Did you confirm it for her? If not, carry on as if nothing has changed. It wouldn't be the first problems he tried to create today. She was feeling me up on the boat, trying to win me away from you. If she was anywhere near certain she would have brought it up to me then. But... I suppose I will deal with her again if I must. I fear our 'divorce' will come as less of a shock to her if she is not dissuaded. In the mean time...”

Felix barely had time to react before Locus was there, kissing him yet again. The whole night had been full of them, and by now it was more than habit to return it. To let his eyes linger closed for just a moment after Locus had pulled away and to just revel in the feel of it, so warm and sweet for how brief it was. 

“You're doing a beautiful job, love. Even if Lily is suspicious for unfair reasons, everyone else here seems quiet taken by you. I've received no end of compliments on my choice in men.”

His mind was still a million thoughts at once, flitting through his head. So many scattered thoughts dancing through his head that he just grabbed the first one that rushed past. “No. I didn't confirm anything to her. But... this is good.”

That comment earned him a confused look from Locus, so Felix sighed and smiled softly. 

“Look, she accused me of being an escort. She doesn't know she's right for sure, but whether I am or not is beside the point. It can go down like I brought this up to you, you got suspicious, we fought a lot and then decided to call it quits, you know? I mean, it's a short version, but I'm sure with help from Doyle we can make it into a better story. In a way, Lily has given us something to work in our favor,” Felix suggested, ignoring the annoyed look briefly on Locus's face. “She basically gave us an easy out. Good, right? Then that way you and her can, I don't know, bond over my 'betrayal' of you. Fucking problem solved. And I'm out of here tomorrow so, whatever.”

“That's... a really good way out,” Locus agreed, smiling at Felix thoughtfully. Wow, for some reason that contented smile cut Felix more than he cared to admit. “But I'd rather not think about any of that tonight. You can spend your time on the ride back to shore tomorrow telling me all about how to cut you out of my life, but that is tomorrow. I need to not think about that to pull _this_ off tonight.”

At that Felix held his hands up in almost amused surrender. “Like I said, you have me for two nights, so yeah. The show still goes on and she honestly can go fuck herself to be honest.”

His hand came up to run through his hair as he shook his head. “I would... just love to take a steak knife and just...” 

No, that would only make a scene. So Felix took a deep, calming breath and shook his head. “Whatever. Okay. Yeah. Let's so this thing.”

He reached for Locus's hand, loving those long fingers wrapped around his hand, warm and firm. And for good measure he pressed up on the tips of his toes to get them about even height-wise so he could press another kiss to Locus's lips, this one lingering a bit longer than was really necessary for the act. But god he was getting so much of them tonight that he almost felt addicted to the point of needing more. 

Maybe Locus was too because then there was an arm around Felix's waist, pulling closer as Locus leaned into him and deepened the kiss. For a long moment they were held there, Felix caught up in the warmth and pleasure of Locus all over again. Whether it was the tenth or ten hundredth time today Felix couldn't be sure anymore. 

What would stick with him, Felix decided as Locus pulled away, was the small smile on the other man's lips, the satisfaction in his eyes, and the pleased edge to his voice as Locus whispered. 

“You kiss like a dream that I hate waking up from.”

“Save it for when we're in front of other people,” Felix laughed weakly, looking away. How could such empty words mean enough to make his mouth dry and his heart pound in it's chest. God it was almost like he was falling in love with the man. But that wasn't possible. Felix wasn't the sort to be in love. So he really needed to stop doing that, stop being so honestly reactive. 

Easier to turn away from Locus than to think about it, easier to pull him toward the dining room than to admit that he was already missing how that had felt. How it felt to be borderline honest when he spoke about Locus. 

Dear lord, tell him he wasn't falling in love. 

No, Felix decided as he brought them back into the dining room and sat next to Locus. He kept their hands together, their fingers tangled on the table as they spoke and the meal was served. No he wasn't falling in love. Just getting better at the job. Getting perfect at the smiles and warm banter and affection. Better at feeling possessive when Lily looked to him, better at feeling at home here with these people, because this was what someone who was telling the truth would feel. He was just a better actor than he had ever realized. 

It was just that he was getting good. Nothing more. No amount of fantasy and longing as he wove stories about their firsts. First kiss. First date. First confessions and the first time he told Locus that he loved him, standing out on the balcony of his apartment, Locus's arms warm and steady around his waist as they looked out over the city at night. 

He was getting good. 

And learning not to question how easy it all came.

* * * * * *

It was getting harder and harder to remember the distinction between the truth he knew he lived, and the lies Doyle had written for him, Locus mused throughout the dinner. Maybe it was because there was always a grain of truth to the stories they had written, a touch of longing in Felix's voice as he made other ones up off the top of his head. They were so well crafted that Locus almost wondered if he hadn't experienced them, but really it was just wistful thinking. 

Still, how in the world was Locus supposed to keep the line between the truth and the fantasy clear when they were so close to each other? How had somehow their first date come from the first time Locus had hired Felix for a party? How had their first kiss happened to spring out of the time that Locus had actually almost kissed Felix after one of their meetings? He hadn't even realized that Felix had noticed the balcony at his apartment, but the picture he wove was so perfect that Locus could almost feel the weight of it, both in how Felix would be in his arms, and how deeply such a confession would move him. 

With Felix it was just always so forth and so on, to the point where Locus would have given anything to make it be as real as he smiles at these people. Instead all he could give anyone, even himself, was the beautiful lie of Felix. 

Thankfully the meal itself went smoothly. Locus measured the passage of time through the courses. Honestly, one could almost measure the progression of their fictitious relationship through them as well. Their meeting again after all these years as the appetizer. Their kiss as the salad course, and earning such a pleased smile from Ms. Johnson. Their confessions, dating, kisses all part of the entree. The mood relaxed more for dessert as Felix went on at length about the wedding and alluded to much of their honeymoon without committing to anything. 

Locus saw something else in the dessert as well... but he didn't want to think about the end. Not of the meal, not of the weekend, and not of his time with Felix. So instead as the story played out Locus focused his attention on Felix, letting the other man speak for them. When Felix allowed himself a moment to breathe Locus would offer him morsels from his own plate, just because it was a true pleasure to see Felix fluster even slightly from the affection, from the attention. 

Of course there was a bitter edge to the whole meal in the form of Lily. She was like straight black coffee. She came on too strong, lingered on the tongue in a bitter, unpalatable way, and cling long after something else should have taken the taste away. Through it all she asked probing questions. Often Felix turned them to his own advantage, but that didn't keep Lily from fuming. Not that she ever did overtly, but Locus knew her enough to pick out the small signs, and it made him have to fight himself not to seethe. How dare the woman try to get under Felix's skin. How dare she try to harass the man he loved?

But there was the simple answer, wasn't it? She didn't think they were something real, something genuine. Only Locus was, of course, but that didn't make him any less upset by her behavior. Or any less pleased at how deftly Felix turned her jabs into new stories that made those around the table to chuckle. 

When he could handle it no more Locus cleared his throat. 

“Perhaps we should adjourn to the patio. I assure you all that the stars are divine from here, and the staff needs some time to clean up after our meal,” Locus suggested, and the agreements came quickly. 

As he rose Locus offered his hand to Felix, and was surprised to see his supposed husband shake his head. 

“It's getting late,” Felix explained simply, getting to his feet on his own and smiling at their guests. “To be honest I'm a little tired. It's been a very long day, getting everything ready. If it's all the same, I'd like to leave you in my husband's capable hands.”

“Of course dear,” Joyce spoke up before anyone else could say anything, whether to complain or agree. Given how powerful she was in her own way, no one was going to argue against her. Not even her own daughter. 

So Locus caught Felix in his arms and kissed his brow lightly. “I promise to be in as soon as I can.”

Felix nodded, and Locus let the other man slip away from him, sighing as he stared after him as he fled. Because really, Locus was pretty certain that was exactly what Felix was going. Running. So unlike him, but it had been a long day so Locus let it slip. 

“Let's have that brief nightcap,” Locus offered his guests, herding them outside. 

As desperately as he wanted to follow after Felix, he couldn't justify it. Someone had to see to the guests, and as the only answer was him, he gave himself another half an hour on the porch with them. There wasn't much conversation of any real value to be had, but everyone sipped at expensive scotch anyway and chattered about little things. How lovely the meal had been. How charming Felix had proved to be. What a wonder the island, the house, their story was. Truly it was all highly tedious, but Locus kept going until at last he caught sight of Joyce yawning the littlest bit. The perfect excuse to end the night. 

“I believe it's time for us to part ways,” Locus observed as he stood and started to accept glasses from the others. He could clean these on his own. No need for staff, because the second these people were out of his care he was free of them until the morning, and that was something he wanted more than he cared to admit. 

“It's still early,” Lily protested.

“Now girl, he's clearly eager to be back to his husband,” Dr. Grayson said, rolling his eyes. 

“And who could blame, him?” Joyce laughed. “To young love.”

“To young love,” others echoed as Locus smiled at the wonderful excuse and waved Doyle over from where the man was hovering at a polite distance. 

“Indeed,” Locus chuckled as Doyle stepped up. “And I admit I'm going to hand you over to Donald. He will see you to the rooms prepared for you at the other house. I admit that we never had many here to share, so there was no where to put people.”

Lily's face fell while other people smiled thankfully, and Locus realized just how narrowly he had accidentally gotten away from another attempt by Lily to get him alone. Well, maybe not an attempt, but clearly she had aimed to take advantage of the distance from Locus either on the way to or from the guest house. No, he was happy to avoid that conversation for now. All he wanted was to head inside to find Felix. 

Still, once the guests were out of sight he found himself deflating. There was a part of him that didn't want to go back to Felix, for fear of what he would find. What he found when he turned around and headed inside was Felix there, leaning against the wall of the hall that led back toward the room they were staying in. Locus didn't even bother to ask him how long he'd been there, just gestured for Felix to join him in gathering the glasses and carrying them to the kitchen. Surprisingly the other man didn't even protest it, just obeyed. 

“You did a wonderful job tonight,” Locus observed conversationally, not comfortable with the silence between them. “Almost makes me think you short changed yourself in asking for so few favors.”

“I know what I'm doing,” Felix grinned in response as he put the glasses in the sink. 

Then Locus was shocked to find Felix's hand held out to him. His own settled so easily, so warmly in his own, and Locus smiled in spite of himself at the contact. 

“You didn't do so bad for yourself,” Felix said as he pulled them deeper into the beach house, leading Locus undoubtedly toward the bedroom. “Tomorrow, though, we say adios to those fuckers, and then I'll be on my way as well. Sucks in a way. I kind of like it here.”

Felix smiled over his shoulder at Locus as he pulled him along. “But as far as I can tell, everyone but Lily ate the shit I fed them up so you're still going strong. Tomorrow morning we'll... smooth out the plans for our divorce.”

Locus almost stumbled over his own feet at how easily Felix said that, and stayed silent until the point when Felix got them to the bedroom and had them through the door and it closed behind them. Okay, so he paused a bit longer than that, his attention caught up in Felix as the other man started to remove his shirt. Just seeing that, seeing skin being uncovered as the fabric slid over his beautiful shoulders, made Locus step forward to catch Felix in his arms. 

“Not all of them are that bad,” Locus insisted, pretending that they weren't standing there, that he wasn't working so hard to get in the way of Felix's clear desire to throw the wall back up between them then and there. Just another moment of this, just another sweet moment of the lie before it was all over. “And you almost sold me on the story to be honest.”

He couldn't help but lean in, to brush his lips in a not-quite kiss over the back of Felix's neck. The small shiver it sent through the man in his arms was enough to finally get him centered back in the moment though. With that Locus released Felix and strode away, moving to the dresser to find something to change into even as he started to strip himself. 

“You could always use one of our favors to have this place to yourself for a few days or so over the summer,” Locus suggested as he pulled his shirt off and pulled on a light t-shirt to replace it. “Anyway, I'm taking them out of here around six tomorrow. Business types wake early, at least from my experience. Many early flights to get back to work. Your own is mid-afternoon, so I figured to return you separately. It would allow us a final chance to talk privately, and spare you further acting.”

And deprive Locus of a chance of any more of their lie, which was already leaving a hollow ache in his chest. 

“No,” Felix said as Locus shimmied out of his pants and grabbed some boxers to throw on to sleep in. “I'll save those favors for a rainy day. That's the point. But some of those stories were nice, you know? A few I told about myself were even true. But yeah, I'm good for leaving early.”

Locus turned back around to look at him, happy to find Felix had already made the change to sleep clothes. In fact, Felix had managed to sit on the edge of the bed and was stretching almost luxuriously from the look on his face. It didn't sound like it though from the way his back cracked.

“God, only one more day of this. I think we should both get so many awards after tonight. I admit I almost convinced myself half the tings you and I said were real. So, good job out there. And I'm not being a dick this time when I say it.”

Maybe part of it was because Locus had genuinely believed about half the things he'd said to the others, but he wasn't going to bring that point up to a man that he would never see again in less than twenty-four hours. 

“I believe I'll resist the urge to play 'guess which stories were real' with you,” Locus sighed as he crossed to the bed and stretched out on it. The sheets were cool against his too warm skin. He told himself it was because the day had been long, he was worked up from everything. Truth be told, he thought it was because of how close he was to Felix. And even warm as he was it didn't kill the chill in his gut. 

“So... you were being a dick last time you told me? I should have known it would be in character for you. Anyway, get some rest. You've earned it. And now you don't even have to pretend anymore.”

With that Locus shifted under the sheets and rolled so his back faced Felix before he turned out the lamp on his side of the bed. It took so much to not roll over and watch as Felix settled himself. More to not move to hold him. 

“Bet you're happy about it. Fuck knows I am,” Felix yawned behind him, and Locus swallowed back the pain in his chest and the sickness in his gut. 

“Happy,” Locus agreed weakly, leaving it at that. Which was well enough because within moments he could hear Felix's breath even out in sleep. 

For him, though, sleep was a lot longer in coming. And when it did he found himself dreaming each those little stories. Perfect little glimpses into a life he would never know, and a love he would never possess.


	10. Their Final Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters nine and ten were both posted on the same day. Be careful and go back and make sure you read nine before you read this.

Strange dreams really weren't the kind that Felix was used to. At least he thought he was the kind of guy that had normal sorts of dreams. Of course unless he spoke with someone else about his dreams then how was he supposed to know what was and wasn't normal. Either way he was certain when he woke to the sound of Locus's voice and a rough hand shaking his shoulder, that the dreams of the night before were far from normal. 

“Time to get moving,” Locus said.

He'd dreamt of a weird collective mix of dinner and his secret being spilled in front of everyone at dinner. Dreamt of Lily's triumphant smile, and the way that the news gave Ms. Johnson a heart attack. He dreamt of Doyle giving the old woman CPR fruitlessly. Felix had grabbed Lily by her hair and dragged her out into the water, sending her screaming and floating away into the endless expanse of the sea with Locus nodding as if what had happened was more than appropriate. 

“Felix, haul your ass up,” Locus repeated, and Felix shifted groggily. “I've got donuts and after that we're getting you packed up for the main land.”

At last Felix pushed himself up to sit, groaning as he did so. “Jesus fuck, okay, _mom_ ,” he snapped, hands coming up to try and rub the sleep from his eyes. When he hands came down he saw the annoyed look on Locus's face and rolled his eyes. 

Fine, if Locus wanted this over with quickly, then Felix was going to give him that. So he all but threw himself out of the bed and stomped off to the bathroom. With the door shut behind him he heard the bedroom door close as well. Sighing he made his way to the shower and let the water run steaming hot before he climbed in to clean himself up. To think, just the other morning he managed to have a pleasant time with Locus, the other man even being kind and affectionate. But, when he thought about it, the show was over and that meant there was no reason for them to be polite anymore. No reason for them to be kind and sweet and warm. 

It was all just an act, Locus reminded himself. All just playing. So... why then did it hurt so much to know it was over? 

Soon enough Felix had himself clean, and he moved slowly around the bedroom to make sure he left nothing at all behind. For a moment he hesitated over the robe Locus had given him. Keeping it would be keeping an attachment to Locus. But it was so decadent. Felix smiled at length, running his hands over the smooth material before finally deciding that there was no way he was leaving that behind. It was a gift, and he as going to keep it. So, smiling, Felix tucked it onto the top of his bag, zipped the case up, and carried it all out and put it down just outside of the kitchen area. 

“Where are these donuts you promised me?” he demanded with a showy yawn as he came into the kitchen, ignoring Locus leaning against the counter the coffee pot was one. “And you get everyone else off okay?”

“Yes, hours ago,” Locus answered him, gesturing with his mug toward the kitchen table where there sure enough was a lovely bakery box with some showy logo on it and a mug of coffee beside it, just for Felix. How kind. 

Felix sat down and sipped at the coffee, trying not to think about how perfectly the drink was seasoned to his tastes as Locus continued. 

“I took them out first thing. Early flights, remember? The hired help also left this morning, and Doyle will be staying with me on the island for another two days. We figured I could spare a little more time to get some arrangements done here so I don't have to do it at the start of the season.”

It took a lot to stay still as Locus moved forward, plucking a powdered donut from the box in front of Felix. Why did Felix feel so jumpy about the man being this close to him? Well, he just did and he didn't like it. 

“Once we're got you fed and Doyle comes over with your ticket and other things, I'll take you back to mainland. There will be a car waiting for you at the docks to take you to the airport, and a car when you get back to the city to drive you home.”

Leave it to Locus to go straight through with the plan. Felix sighed and plucked a sprinkled, glazed donut from the box and munched on it as he listened to Locus go on. Flight times, what to look for, stuff like that. At last, though, Felix asked the question that was really bugging him. 

“On the boat... Lily didn't give you any shit did she?”

Honestly he was more curious than he really should be. Chalk it up to the conversation last night, or the dreams, or even the simple fact that he knew that Locus's ultimate plans aimed for Lily as his eventual wife. Of course, after the night before, Felix found himself thinking of her as a bitch. 

And it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that the thought of Locus courting Lily made him irrationally jealous. A jealousy he swallows down with some of the coffee to drive the bitter taste from his mouth. 

“She cornered me while everyone else was in the cabin having a light breakfast, again,” Locus sighed, shaking his head. “And of course she tried to kiss me, and I reminded her, a bit more firmly this time, that I was married. It was nice to get rid of her, though she did steal a kiss and scandalized her mother when we hit the mainland.” 

“Look at you, you spent the morning taking the trash out. Still, I swear if Joyce ropes you into another fucking weird ass dinner, _I_ will be the one to kill you,” Felix insisted, picking up a stray knife from the table and pointing it at Locus. “Anyway, let's discuss our divorce.”

“Well,” Locus mumbled as he returned to the coffee pot and refilled his much, “that is just cheerful breakfast conversation. Fine then. I want a divorce. I'm leaving you for the bitch who thinks you're just a high priced call boy.”

“In her defense, I am,” Felix answered smoothly before setting his donut aside, pushing his coffee away, and leaning back in his seat. “I bring up what she accused me of, and you just get your fucking nose bent out of shape. We fight and I call you an insecure asshole who believes some trollop who is after him over his husband.”

Slowly he worked the wedding band that wasn't really his off of his finger. For a moment he rolled it between his fingers, looking at the flashing metal and finally putting it down on the table and slid it across toward Locus. “I... throw the ring in your face after you accuse me of over reacting. I walk out.”

Felix laughed and shook his head. “Thing is, you find out some days later that she was right. I'm just a high priced escort. You were played and all the fault is mine. Sounds good, right? That way your rep stays intact and Lily looks like some, I don't know... hero?”

* * * * * *

Locus just stared at the ring on the table, trying not to wince at the sight of it there. The thing sat in a puddle of warm sunlight, glinting at him in a way that seemed like it was taunting. All he could do was swallow hard and look away from the table and Felix. The last thing he could do was take the ring. To let it burn his skin as it seemed to imply it would. 

Strange, Felix had never truly been his, but he was still here, trying to figure out why the act hurt so much when he knew that his love wasn't going to be returned. 

“I suppose it justifies turning to her after everything happens,” Locus whispered more to himself before straightening and nodding. “I find out because the suspicion nags at me constantly, and I turn to Doyle to have him prove me wrong. He finds you, hires you for a night, and when he shows up and finds it truly is you, you know that I know. And I know she was right. You're served with papers within days, and you don't bother to fight me over signing them because I could easily out you and ruin your job. You get nothing from the divorce due to the prenuptial agreement we signed, and which I didn't feel like discussing last night. It was... a precaution.”

At last Locus let himself move to the table. That didn't mean he didn't hesitate before he reached out and picked up Felix's ring. He too turned it over and over in his fingers, pondering it. Part of him wondered if Felix had ever noticed the engraving in the ring. 

_With all my love, forever._

Strange, when he'd had it made he hadn't anticipated how true those words would be. 

Nervously he held the ring back out to Felix. “I told you when this started that you could keep the ring. Sell it if you must, but it is yours.”

He watched and tried not to sigh when Felix's fingers brushed against his palm to scoop up the bit of metal. Locus watched as the metal flashed around his fingers as Felix toyed with it, and then it was gone as the other man slipped it into the pocket. How Felix could beam up at him at a moment like that, smiling in that arrogant way of his, Locus couldn't understand. 

“Sounds like a great story. I think people will buy it. Hell, Lily will eat it all up because her opinions about me would be right,” Felix chuckled before pausing for a moment. “Well... she was, but that's not the point. I hope you're ready to get a bunch of comments. 'Oh I'm so sorry to hear about you and Felix, he seemed like such a nice boy!' 'How did it come to this?' 'At least you learned it early.' Whatever crap people spew out.”

Whether he was going to say more or not Locus didn't know, because he heard the nearby door open, and Doyle's voice call out. 

“Forgive me for being a touch late. There was a problem with the tickets, but we are indeed good to go!”

Locus just sighed and turned away from Felix, not wanting to see how pleased he would be with that news. 

“Would you like the pills this time?” Locus offered, moving forward to grab Felix's bad and head for the door. Just get out of here. Get this over and done with. “I left a bottle of them down in the cabin.”

The last thing he wanted to think about at that moment was the story, the final lie to wrap up the bigger lie. So all he could do was gather himself up in the minutiae that needed done to keep himself from thinking. The first step is just moving toward the door and Doyle. 

“We should have plenty of flexibility for getting Felix where he needs to be one time,” he found himself telling Doyle. “Would you like to blow off a bit of work for the ride, or would you prefer to stay here?”

Truth be told, Locus thought he needed a distraction for the way back. Something that wasn't thinking about Felix. 

“Uh, yes sir,” Doyle offered quickly, opening the door and frowning. Locus just headed out and tried not to think about the man that would be trailing after him. 

The trip back is utterly uneventful. Mostly because Doyle seemed to pick up the mood and while Locus couldn't be sure, it felt like his secretary was earning his salary keeping the two of them separate. Nor did Doyle presume to talk to Locus on the way back to mainland, for which Locus was thankful. There was a hole in his chest that he didn't know how to fill. 

Uneventful, but god Locus was certain it had never been a longer trip. By the time he stopped them at the docks it felt like a whole lifetime had passed, not a simple hour. And it even seemed to take hours to climb down the stairs to the cabin, where he found Felix slinging his backpack over his shoulder and lifting his suitcase. 

Felix looked up, smiling briefly. “Guess this is my stop.”

Locus nodded and led him toward the back of the boat, more than willing to put out the ramp for him. From the way he looked a little green around the edges it was quite clear that Felix hadn't handled this part of the trip either. As he leapt lightly to the dock, intending to offer Felix a hand and see him to the waiting car, he heard the other man call out behind him. 

“Hey Doyle! See you around. Maybe. It was nice getting to know you. And, uh, thanks for everything!” 

With that Felix turned to look at him, and frowned at the hand. Instead he jumped to the dock himself, stumbling a little, leaving Locus to put out an arm to catch him. That seemed to stabilize Felix quite a bit. At least the other man reeled back from him, smiling in a friendly sort of way that Locus thought was his normal acting, but for the moment he couldn't be sure. 

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Felix said, voice crisp and professional as he held a hand out to Locus.

For a long moment he stared at Felix, at Felix's hand, and then he shook his head. This was his last chance, and like hell he was ending it like that. Instead his hands came up, one cupping Felix's face and the other wrapping around his waist as he leaned down and stole one last kiss. While it was brief, frustratingly so, Locus did his best to keep it tender. For his own sake more than for Locus's. 

When he pulled away it was with a faint smirk on his lips. “I never got a good night kiss last night. Figured I would take it now. It has been quite entertaining, Felix. I wish you luck with your future work, and hope that you get clients half so entertaining as you have been in my life. Call myself or Doyle when you figure out how to spend those favors.”

* * * * * *

Felix licked his lips and nodded briefly. No, that wasn't enough to shake everything off. So he cleared his throat and forced himself to laugh cheerfully, even though nothing about this situation was really funny. 

“Yeah, I will. And, uh, good luck to you as well. With, well, you know. Lily and your job. Thing.”

Fucking hell why was he so flustered, once again, from a kiss? “You'll probably never meet someone has as fun as me in the future, but you can try. So...”

Felix shifted the luggage he held from one hand to another and hesitated. There were a hundred other things running through his head, other things he could say and other things he was suddenly realizing he felt. One of which he wouldn't dare put a name to even as much as the pounding in his veins was trying to scream the word anyway. 

“Don't forget to send me an invite to the wedding, okay?”

The joke tasted like ashes on his tongue, but Felix refused to think about that. He just turned away without another word said and walked off, not willing to let Locus near him again. Mostly because he could still feel Locus's lips against his. Because he wanted desperately to turn back and see Locus one last time. 

He couldn't though. Felix knew that if he did, if he turned back now, he'd never be able to go. 

Love was unforgiving like that. 

So he just kept walking.


	11. Alternate Scene - Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a meme I was asked for an alternate scene to Chapter Nine where Lily actually outs Felix as an Escort. Here it is, to hold you over until the end.

“Look, she accused me of being an escort. She doesn’t know she’s right for sure, but whether I am or not is beside the…”

Felix found himself cut off by the loud, horrified gasp in the other room. No. No this was not happening now, it was not happening like this. He had this amazing plan to use the paranoid bitch’s own discovery against her. She couldn’t be playing that damn card now. And yet there was Locus, catching up his hand, pulling him back to the dining room area. That stupid bitch. 

“He’s what?” Joyce demanded as Felix found himself pulled to a stop near the table, all eyes on them. 

“An escort. A high priced call boy,” Lily declared and it was all Felix could do to not bite through his lip. 

“Is this true?” 

Felix felt the hand in his squeeze comfortingly, and like that, his cool came back to him. He pulled his hand from Locus’s and he smiled charmingly from the table. 

“Of course,” Felix answered, and he felt the whole room, Locus included, go tense. God this was going to be god. He put on his best sarcastic yet annoyed voice, put a fist to his hip, and waved his hand dismissively at Lily. “Clearly I’m an escort.”

He moved forward to Joyce’s side, bowing and offering a hand. “Please, allow me to escort you to the guest house this evening. I assure you I know the way there quite well.”

Already Felix could hear the giggling, so he moved further down the table to one of the other women present and smiled as she looked up at him. 

“My dear, may I have the honor of escorting you to the next dinner Locus and I attend? I think I’d look better on your arm than his. And he’s already bought me so many gifts. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Everyone was giggling now, except for Lily, who was visibly fuming when Felix glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. 

Well, her and Locus, but that man was hard to amuse. 

“My friend said he hired you to go to dinner with him, a ‘boyfriend experience’ or something!” Lily protested loudly, and Felix pulled away from the woman at the table, turning to look at Locus in askance. All he had to do was put on a hurt look and seem like he was the wronged party, and it was so easy to bring them all to his side. 

“I confess, Locus. Of that I’m guilty. My cousin Jackson lives in town and he wanted to go to dinner with him and his boyfriend. The guy was a bit… distant, so that worried me a bit,” Felix said thoughtfully. He had to find out which of the assholes that had hired from Dolce and have the idiot blacklisted for voiding a contract. 

“You told me,” Locus answered softly. “I looked into the man. He was attempting to use your cousin as a, I believe the term is ‘sugar daddy.’ I convinced him it was a poor idea.”

“But… But… the first time you came to a party for us with Felix, I heard Felix came in a separate car. A limo,” Lily quickly tried to defend her claim. Stupid girl just kept trying to beat a master at this art, but he wasn’t afraid of winning this one to be honest. 

“I was at the office until just before the party,” Locus offered, stepping forward before Felix even had a chance to set up a lie. “Since I was unable to pick Felix up myself, I sent a car. In fact, more often than not I send a car because our work schedules are quite different on nights we don’t set aside for ourselves. Besides, if Felix came to a party in his own car you’d clearly make a fuss out of that, seeing as he’s not as wealthy as either of us and I saw no need to bestow a car upon a boyfriend.”

Felix had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from laughing at the scene. The way Lily’s fists, clenched at her sides, shook with her fury, was precious. This was a memory he’d keep with him forever. Wonderful. 

“Lily, your unseemly behavior is just…” Joyce shook her head disapprovingly. “Sit down and be quiet!”

God Felix wished he could gloat. But the way his ‘husband’ caught him up in his strong arms and kissed him lightly… Well, that could be a prize all its own.


	12. Unfortunate Reunion

Time passed like it always did, and truth be told, that didn't make Felix any less successful. Even without the constantly repeating patronage by Locus he found himself busy. Found himself distracted by jobs that he'd never expected to take. 

It isn't that odd jobs on the side are strictly forbidden, just tat they weren't exactly the best idea. For a long time Felix had held back from those sorts of side jobs, the extra escort work with clients he knew, but not necessarily through the safety of the firm. No, these were people who wanted extra time out of him, or wanted more out of him than he normally gave. Maybe once he might have given that to Locus as a deal, but even with the extra rates he charged for this work, there were always takers. People who wanted a little more out of him, who expected it or felt entitled to it. Those latter sorts he waved off anyway, but he needed, wanted the money, and it was work. 

Unlike with Locus it was always just work. No personal pleasure from it. Just a business arrangement. 

Of course there was a downside to the under the table work, and it was that sometimes people got too attached. That was a pot of hot water that the company wasn't there to get him out of. 

Tommy started simply enough, really. A message to his work line when he was at Locus's summer home. He'd needed something, anything, right after to distract him from the deep ache in his chest. The loss. The weight around his neck that he always carried with him. A simple past client who wanted the extra time off the table, off the records, and desperate for a distraction, Felix had said okay. He was certain that he'd once explained it to Locus, why Dolce was the best way to do the world. Clients can get attached, start to see the lie as something more than that, and they grew to want more. Demand more. He'd had stalkers of his usual clients in the past, people who did desperate things, and Felix had been able to trust Kimball to get rid of them. 

Maybe it was Locus that made him willing to take the extra work. Because had there was nothing about the situation that hadn't struck him as being like an outside job. Sure he wasn't being properly paid for it in anything other than favors—and he'd never take a favor from another person—but it was outside of work and he was going far further than he needed to. But yeah, Tommy was... 

Tommy had been a client before Locus. One of Felix's long term clients who had always been reliable. So he agreed, he took Tommy's offer before he went to the island, and decided that he'd step up his game there when he was back. When Locus was... out of his life. 

There were messages from Tommy most every day now. Had been on the island. The man had gotten so eager to see Felix that even then it had been worrying. Questions of when Felix was coming back, saying that Tommy needed to see him. Since the man had wanted a boyfriend experience Felix put up with it. A boyfriend would care, would worry. So Felix did his best to keep the man satisfied. 

Maybe he should have hesitated when he got back to the mainland and got the text. Tommy saying he was standing outside of Felix's apartment. That he could hear him inside. 

Felix laughed and shook his head at that. Sending back a quick message of 'Dude, I'm not even ON the continent. I told you I'm on vacation for a couple of days. Go home. I'll see you soon enough.'

So, the second word got out that Felix was back on the table, the under the table clients returned as well. 

Which was leading to a less than happy situation right here and now. 

“Damn man, you look like twenty kinds of shit,” Tucker snorted from the couch in the escort lounge in Dolce. Tucker was always like that, sprawled somewhere, like it was nothing. Where was the poise? Where was the self possession? Where was the selling yourself with every breath? Felix didn't like how Tucker worked, and yet the other man was a pretty good sale, just like Felix. Strange. He couldn't begin to understand.

“Working late,” Felix dismissed the comment, and only realized how stupid the statement had been after it was past his lips. 

“Bullshit,” Tucker answered immediately, propping himself up on his elbows a bit. “I know for a fact that you weren't scheduled for anything yesterday. Or the day before that. OR the day before that, or...”

“Your point, get to it,” Felix snapped, angry to be caught in his own failed lie. Dammit he was better than this, better than being found out by Tucker of all people. 

“Just... you look like shit and you know the Boss hates it when the goods are damaged,” Tucker grinned before lowering himself back down. 

Felix groaned and knocked Tucker's legs off of the couch so he could flop down on it. The only thing that kept him from sliding down it was because Tucker's legs were immediately across his lap, a buckle to keep him in place. 

“It's nothing. Just some problems with a few clients of mine,” Felix dismissed it, sighing. 

“Like what?”

Like Tucker and his stupid smiling face and his talking even when he shouldn't be because clearly Tucker didn't and couldn't understand what was going on. 

“Like it's none of your business? I'm gonna ask Boss if I can block some people because it's getting too much to handle,” Felix sighed at length. It wasn't something the escorts talked about often, but they all knew about clients going stalker. You learned to live with that risk, and to turn to the higher ups to cover your ass.

There wasn't protection like that with side jobs. But you could always black list them in your normal work. Like he had done to Locus after they were together. And look how well that had gone. 

“Ooooh, they getting attached?” Tucker said sympathetically. Everyone had things like that, and none of them liked it. 

“That's... the surface of it,” Felix agreed. 

“Dude, you get stalkers like crazy,” Tucker sighed, shaking his head. “What the fuck?”

“I'm charming I guess,” Felix answered, and Tucker just snorted at that, mumbling under his breath. Felix thought maybe he could hear something like 'wish I had stalkers' but that wasn't even remotely possible. No one wanted a life like this. Tucker just wanted attention.

Instead of answering, Felix stood, upsetting Tucker once again, when he heard someone shout his name. That would be his summoning to the boss, to deal with the situation with Tommy. With a sigh he got up and headed for the office, slipping through the door and standing just inside of it to look at Kimball. 

“Felix,” she said simply, not looking up. She rarely ever did that. Geez he just wanted her to look at him once in a while. What was so wrong with that? “What can I do for you today? And you best not be asking for time off after your recent bouncing around.”

“I just... need to blacklist someone,” Felix sighed as he moved forward to sit in front of her desk. As always Kimball was impeccably beautiful. Her hair in a tight fitting bun, her clothes black as night, and her lips crimson like a dream. This woman could make so much as an escort, and instead she took care of them. How could he not respect her for that? 

“Again?” Kimball sighed, looking up at last with clear sympathy in her eyes.

“What can I say? I'm fucking charming,” Felix grumbled as he settled more. “Can we just get to the paperwork?”

The paperwork is a slow process, but Kimball always insisted that it was done in front of her. Either it was concern that the work be done properly or concern for her employees. Either way Felix found himself waiting there for nearly an hour, filling out each and every line very precisely. It would get several people off of Felix's list and redirected to escorts who match Felix in personality or experience or appearance. At last it was done, and he stood, stretching slowly. 

“You look like shit, Felix,” Kimball said softly. “Is... everything else okay?”

Felix made a face, looking away from her. “Everyone needs to stop saying that. Yeah, I'm good. Just... just whatever. I'll be back on the clock again tomorrow, right?”

Kimball flipped open a binder on her desk and her finger scrolled down a list. At last she stopped, tapped something twice, and nodded. 

“Says here you are.”

“Okay. I'll... see you when I see you then, right?” 

Felix nodded and walked off.

* * * * * *

Time waits for no man.

It was a saying Locus had heard many times before and never lent much thought to. Truth be told he probably should have. So much in his life was dependent upon the knowledge of how time affected things. Money put to the right ends didn't do much if time was not given for the situation to properly bloom, to prosper. Money thrown at a problem didn't solve the problem until the money had a chance to soothe and bring minds around to an agreement, or at least a solution. His pointing individuals to the proper companies and start-ups to inspire greater results also required time, for people to figure out how to work together and develop whatever it was that he needed from them.

Time waits for no man.

But it could feel as if an eternity passed in a single afternoon, or like a day would never end.

For Locus, every day that passed without him seeing Felix, without hearing his voice, without feeling those lips against his, felt more like the latter.

So days passed into weeks, weeks into months, and months into half a year that he found himself dragging through his life. The few days he had spared himself to be alone on the island had been a sort of torture on their own, every room seeming to have some memory or thought of Felix locked up in it. The strange thing was that Felix hadn't been with him in so many that the memories were more imaginings than anything else. He would kiss Felix there. Wrap them both up in a blanket and share a book here. Chuckle as they enjoyed a light snack of fruit on this couch or that.

It made the work he threw himself back into the second he hit mainland a true relief. Hours upon hours spent caught up in his business. Each day he came in before anyone else, each night he only left after the nagging and annoyed looks from Doyle chided him home.

And then, of course, there was her. Not even a month after he was back at work for more hours than he'd ever have imagined before, the call came. A quiet, somber one from the personal secretary to Ms. Joyce Johnson. The funeral was small, lovely, and Locus found himself to be one of the few that Lily even cared to invite. Truth be told, he'd wished Felix was there, to snarl and hiss at the woman who didn't even care to see properly to her mother's final days. 

A week later he had Doyle clear his schedule so that he could go to Lily with the next phase of the plan. 

“Locus?” Lily asked in shock when she opened her door and found him there. Locus was almost offended by her bright, cheerful clothing. Did she even care that her mother was dead?

“I didn't know where else to go,” he lied, and then he was in her arms. The next few hours were sent detailing the story that he and Felix had created. By the end of the night he had agreed to 'divorce' the man. 

They start dating a within a few days of the finalization of the divorce, and definitely after Locus has sent Felix a gift basket congratulating him on their separation. 

Truly the hardest thing about it all, was how boring it was. How the dinners Lily would take him to were filled with her friends and how she chided him for not being talkative enough. Sure, their 'romance' proceeded as he felt it should, but that didn't make it pleasant. There was no challenge. There was no fun. There was none of the thrill or excitement he'd had with Felix at his side.

Maybe it would have been easier if the places Lily frequented didn't seem to be enjoyed by Felix's other customers. Catching a sight of the man out of the corner of his eye with some paying client made him angry. So angry. It should be him making Felix laugh. And it should be a real one, not the fake ones he could hear across the room. 

Worse was the way Lily reacted when she was him. Whenever she caught sight of Felix she was all over Locus. Grabbed his hand, wrapped herself around him, and she laughed and spoke loudly and he just wanted to shake her off. 

Worst was when he looked and couldn't find a trace of his ring on Felix's finger. Of course it wasn't there. It shouldn't be. But the lack was, time and time again, infuriating and painful. And all he could do was keep moving. 

* * * * * *

The bus ride back to his apartment was enough to make Felix sigh. Truth be told he hated public transport, and nothing compared to the rides his clients sent for him. No. Wait, that wasn't exactly true. The few times he'd been in Locus's car with him had been better. Had been amazing. Top down, wind in his heart, more horse power than even remotely necessary under him and purring with joy. Public transportation felt nothing like that, and Felix just sighed. 

Since getting back he had been trying to capture some of what he'd found with Locus. That brief time on the island had meant so much to him. He kept telling himself that it was only the lie they lived that was good. A relationship he wanted, someone older to pamper him like Locus had pretended to. Maybe he was getting older, maybe he was just ready for something serious. 

So he tried to deal with this how he could. Some nights he tried to cook for himself, things more complicated than the simple 'apply heat and/or water' and you're good to go. Not that it worked out well. The food ended up charred and he got pizza instead. Tried to check into those lovely sheets from Locus's house. But those had proved too expensive for him to consider in the end.

At least the gift basket had been filled with tasty things. 

He sighed as the bus stopped, waved to the driver, and got off to walk the rest of the way to his apartment. His nights had gotten so lonely since Locus, which had lead to these jobs. Led to taking clients home and into his own bed. Breaking his rules more and more since Locus. He wasn't sure what it said about him to do that. The timing. The nights were always rougher. Off the books the clients felt more... comfortable with him. They would get rough sometimes, feeling like they could get away with more. But so long as they didn't mar his face it was fine with him. He could deal with a bit of roughness. Whatever it took to get the bills paid. 

Things felt tense as he entered the apartment complex. He wasn't sure why but there was something that felt wrong. Maybe something out of place that made him nervous. 

What was so wrong didn't really hit home until he made it to his floor. The sensation only grew more intense as he moved forward. Then there it was, his door, open a bit. Frowning Felix pulled his keys from his pocket, lacing them between his knuckles. It wasn't an effective thing, but until he got further into his apartment, it was all he had right now. Felix licked his lips and pushed the door open slowly, standing off to the side. 

Further inside he heard a small crash, and a voice called out. 

“Felix?”

He knew that voice, Felix realized as he moved into the apartment, suddenly angry.

“Tommy?” he called flatly before growling out, angrier, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“They, they called me,” Tommy answered, coming forward from Felix's kitchen. “Told me I'm off your call card! I—I panicked, Felix. I came here, to ask you why? Why? Felix, you have to tell me why. Wasn't I, weren't we getting along?”

The way the guy started to advance on him had Felix backing toward his door. There was an odd, twisting feeling in his guy, sort of sickening. “So you thought the best thing for you to do was, what? Break into my apartment? Beg me to take you back?” Felix grit his teeth and moved forward. He wasn't going to be driven out of his own home by this fucking asshole. 

“Yes! Please, Felix, god I need you so much!”

The desperation in his voice kept Felix so on edge, so angry, so disgusted, that he didn't see the motion until it was too late. Tommy lunged forward and the blow across Felix's cheek knocked him down. The keys flew from his hand and before Felix knew it he was pinned by the man he had always thought of as scrawny and demure. Now, though, as he kicked to try to get Tommy off of him, he found the other man to be strong. Stronger than he'd expected. Too strong, too wild.

It took a moment, but Felix knew better, is prepared for this. Not as prepared as he should be, but he braces his legs under Tommy as they fight, tenses up, and kicks. 

“Get the fuck off me you--” Felix started to scream as well, knowing to get attention to himself and quick. All he got was cut off as Tommy actually punched him. 

“I loved you, you fuck! I see the other men and women you go around with!” Tommy yelled down in his face as Felix struggled to breathe and just stared up at Tommy in shock. 

“I'm... I'm an escort you fucking idiot! What, you think I don't entertain anyone else but you?”

The rest, he found, was a blur. Felix knew there were more blows, somewhere in his head he registers that he threw most of them. He knew there was struggling, knew there was moment of clarity in his head. A second of calm anger over how he could never stay in his own apartment after Tommy had realized what he'd done and fled. Couldn't stay because some asshole had come into his home and ruined it. 

What he knew, what he could be certain of, was that somehow he was on the street, standing in a phone booth, lip split open and knuckles throbbing with pain. He stared at the phone for a good long minute before sighing and picking up the receiver. Apparently it was time to cash in on one of his favors.

* * * * * *

Locus sighed as he stretched and pushed back from his desk. A stretch that was cut off by the ringing of his cellphone. Were it not for the fact that Locus had nothing better to do as he finally prepared to leave for the evening, he would have ignored it. As it was he pulled his phone out, frowned at the unknown number, and he flipped it open. All he had left was to finish his coffee, stuff a few files into his briefcase and deal with the phone. 

“I don't know who you are and how you got this number, but you've got ten seconds to give me a reason to care that you're calling me before I hang up,” Locus answered the phone and he made sure to sound bored and annoyed rather than simply bored. Maybe the stranger was an interesting case of a wrong number. 

What he got instead was a familiar snort and a voice thick with amusement that made his chest ache. 

“Wow, is that how you greet everyone? Business partners and ex-husbands included? No wonder you fucking needed my help to get anywhere.”

Somewhere out in the city Felix was at a phone, calling him. Locus couldn't begin to say how important that was. And like usual the man was full of vim and vinegar. That was his Felix. As he listened he could hear something thud lightly against something, a wall or glass maybe, or given that it wasn't a number Locus knew, a telephone booth or a wall in some random building. 

Still, as joyful as he was to hear that voice, he froze to hear it. “Felix?” 

Here he had almost started to think that Felix would never call in his favors. To hear him now was enough to bring fondness to his voice as he continued. “I should think that my word choice is more appropriate considering the 'ex-husband' status. Congratulations, you have managed to intrigue me. You have a full extra minute. What can I do for you, Felix?”

Felix chuckled, but an annoyed sort of one that Locus was used to getting when Felix wasn't actually amused by his jokes. “Oh god, a full minute! Well, I'm glad to see I can amount to that much.”

What shocked, Locus, though, was the dip in his voice, the serious turn. “So... on the off chance that Lily hasn't totally brainwashed you yet, though you don't seem the type, remember those favors you owe me? Mind if I cash in on one?”

The way he trailed off at the end, laughing awkwardly, it put Locus's hackles up. It wasn't like Felix to seem... anything but utterly confident. 

But instead of pressing he just carried on lightly. Better not to let Felix know he was worried. “Lily is still a bitch,” he confirmed as he finished his packing so he could leave. “What can I do for you, thirty words or less? I'm about to get into an elevator.”

“So, that means you're on your way out, right?” Felix asked, his voice slower, more pensive than Locus was used to. “Do... you think you can like, give me a ride across town or some shit? I kinda left my credits and shit at my apartment, and let's just say I can't really go back there yet. And if you can maybe check me in to some hot shot hotel with really fucking good security, I would super appreciate that. I'm on...”

There was a pause that gave Locus time to think, time to worry. Why couldn't Felix go to his apartment? Why was his stuff there without him? Why didn't Felix know where he was off the top of his head? 

“30th and Broadway? Literally right on the corner next to a phone booth.”

Locus had to stop when he got to the elevator and he hit the call button. He had to think about this. What could possibly be going on? No, thinking about it wasn't going to get him anywhere. “I've got a better option than a hotel if you're willing, but... what's going on, Felix? Are you okay? I just... What's going on?”

God he wished the elevator was there now. Wished he was in his car. Already he found himself planning the fastest route across the city to get to Felix. Trying to figure out just which areas he could risk speeding through, which lights he could get away with running. Something was wrong, and he didn't know what, and he was pretty sure that even asking like this wasn't going to get anything from Felix. 

“Yeah, I'm peachy, don't worry,” Felix insisted, a wince in his voice. “If you have something better than a hotel then hook me up. I'll be here. I, uh, don't have my phone on me, so just look for the the MD's on the street corner I told you.”

“Alright,” Locus agreed with a sigh. “But you owe me an explanation when I get there. You should recognize the car, so keep an eye out. I'll be there soon.”

He didn't wait for Felix to respond, just jabbed repeatedly at the elevator button as if it could summon the thing faster.

* * * * * *

Locus got there a bit faster than Felix had honestly been expecting. But really, what could he do about that as the still far too gorgeous sports car pulled into the parking lot? The answer was clearly to push himself to his feet, wave, and hope that Locus didn't comment too much over his split lip. There really was only so much hassle he was willing to put up with on a given day, and today was pretty quickly nearing that mark. So he slowly walked up to the parked car, indeed the classy one that had picked him up at the airport before they headed out to the island, and he leaned on the passenger door as he smiled at Locus. 

“I'm impressed, you got here fucking fast. So... does Lily know you're picking up hookers off the street?”

The smile he shot Locus only ended up making him wince in pain from pulling on the cut. Dammit he really needed to learn not to do that until it was healed. Of course it was a lot better than the stinging in his fists from the punches he was now certain he had thrown. All in all, he felt mostly okay. 

“I could care less what Lily thinks,” Locus answered, leaning over to pull Felix's hands from where they were tucked under his arms. Of course the fucking asshole would want to look. Since when had he been Locus's little peep-show into the lives of those below him? Well, whatever. Felix didn't even look away as Locus looked him over. 

“What happened? Who did you fight with? Did someone break into your apartment? Have you called the cops?”

In another situation Felix might have been amused by the frantic energy Locus was putting out. As it was, though, he just yanked his hands away from Locus, opened the car door, and flopped down into his seat before buckling up and getting ready to go. 

“Can I just tell you on the way? Seriously, let's go to wherever you had in mind,” Felix sighed, looking over the side of the car. “Just... get us moving?”

Locus didn't respond to that, didn't have to because within seconds Felix could hear the car being thrown into gear and then they were moving. He waited until they were out on the street before he finally spoke up. 

“So... the thing about working under a company,” he started with a sigh, trying to figure out the right way to explain this, “is that we get protected and covered. Totally legit. But the company also takes a pretty hefty cut of what you make. So all those bonuses you threw in? Kimball took a serious cut of that. I mean, I still made off like a fucking bandit with you, but the company got the better part of it. So, to make ends meet and crap, I've started taking jobs under the table. Meaning not covered by the company. I'm not even remotely the only one who does it, but we don't talk about it.”

Truth be told, he was pretty thankful that Locus was just silent for all of this. Talking about what had happened would have been hard enough with another escort, someone who knew the business and knew what came of it and what could go wrong. Explaining it to someone who was only on the 'positive' end of things was very different. Locus didn't have to imagine the very real risks that Felix faced every day. Probably wouldn't even care to acknowledge the idea that someone like Felix could get hurt doing this job. 

They worked so hard to make sure clients only saw what they wanted them to see.

“Clients I meet at the company who want more time with me, I sometimes schedule off the clock. They pay me more than what they do with Dolce, and they can request other things. Overnight visits, a more intimate boyfriend experience, vacations and the like. But... sometimes the people you entertain on your own time get attached because of that...”

When he thought about it, wasn't that a way of describing Locus? Maybe he'd just left the arms of one obsessive asshole for another. But, then again, Locus had let him go. Guys didn't always do that well. But normally it was the customer getting something out of the boyfriend experience, left wanting more. Not Felix. 

“Cutting to the chase, there's a guy... Tommy. He got a bit, well, possessive. He tries to schedule himself into all my Dolce time slots and demands a lot of my under the table time. Today I went in to black list him because he was getting on my last fucking nerve. Thing is... when they black you, like you have found, they have to tell you. I guess when he got the message he didn't take it well, because he was waiting for me at my place. Inside my apartment. Funny huh?”

Felix laughed, trying to make it a joke, but even he could hear the weakness in his voice. 

“No,” Locus answered blandly, though maybe his voice was hard. Felix couldn't be quite certain. “Not funny in the slightest. I don't suppose a restraining order is at all possible. No, I know it probably isn't, because then you'd have to explain why. Well, this is a favor I'm quite willing to pay out on. I just how you can live with a bit of dust.”

Dust? Where could Locus take him that would have dust? But as Felix looked he found the car was clearly aimed in a general 'away from town' manner, and he wasn't sure what to do with that. And he didn't seem likely to get an answer because of the way Locus was continuing on, a bit under his breath. 

“I hope you can handle being on your own for a while, though. I haven't been back there in a while, so I'll need to go out and stock the kitchen for you. But you can stay as long as you want, within reason.”

“It should just be a few days, so you really don't need to stock the kitchen or anything. I'm good with takeout,” Felix insisted. He didn't want this to be a whole big thing. Still, the idea... 

Nervously he looked to Locus and admitted, “I tried that cooking bullshit of yours. Didn't work out, so buying foof would be a damn waste.”

“Well, take out does not exactly function well with where I'm setting you up,” Locus shrugged. “Unless your license is up to date, of course. In which case I suppose I could lend you a car. You're... good with numbers right? The front gate has a security panel.”

Felix frowned at that. Front gate? Just where was Locus taking him? “I guess shopping is fine then. But I don't drive, no real reason to. So... uh, how is the bitch? Treating you well I hope? I mean, since you now know what's going on in my life, figure you could share some exciting news in yours.”

After a moment he frowned and continued on. “Thanks for the gift basket, by the way. The card was hilarious.”

Silence spread between them for a bit as Felix stared forward. Clearly he had said something that Locus didn't appreciate. Maybe the calling his clearly pending future ball and chain a bitch wasn't something Locus was willing to put up with too often. Or maybe it was something else. There was no way to know unless Locus told him, because that guy was like a wall of fucking ice sometimes. 

“Lily is...” Locus started, hesitated from what Felix heard, and finally continued on. “Still a bitch. She takes chances every now and then to remind me how lucky I am that she told me your dirty little secret. Stupid woman doesn't even consider that maybe I knew for myself. She wanted to have a party to celebrate our divorce, but I managed to dodge it. Her mother... Joyce passed away a bit ago, so...”

“I'm sorry to hear it. I kind of liked Joyce, for all the trouble she got us into,” Felix sighed. Joyce had been nice. Still, this was an interesting topic that felt safe. So he turned in his seat to look at Locus as they finally made it out into the true 'out of the city' area. Along both sides was instance after instance of wasted money in the form of giant mansions. Suddenly Felix was starting to suspect what was about to happen, but really, he didn't want to think about it too hard. 

“A party? God, if she wasn't so rude to me I could almost respect that. So... when are you two tying the knot? I'd ask to be invited but who knows, maybe I will be dragged along with another guest. Unless you're doing the whole private thing. How was the gossip about us anyway? Was it like I said it would be?”

The words tumbled out, one after another, and Felix hated himself for that weakness. Then again, it did distract him from the way he could feel his own hands clenching and unclenching in his pants. It let him ignore how jealous he was of the idea of Lily spending so much time at Locus's side when he hadn't seen the other man since the island. A decision of his own design, and Locus's, but that didn't make him any less jealous. She was living it up with the man he loved, and all he could do was try to stay away and not get them all in trouble. 

“I haven't come near proposing yet,” Locus admitted as the car started to slow down and a turn signal came on. Felix sighed as he looked to the side road they were turning onto. So maybe Locus wasn't planning what Felix had thought. 

“Things like this go a lot slower in the business world. As for the gossip about us, well, I wasn't exactly in the position to hear much. Our guests, save Lily, were all quite consoling. They really liked you. Felt that I probably did as well... Seems we put on quite the convincing show.”

As he spoke Felix watched, and he could feel his eyes get wider, his jaw go a little slack as he realized this wasn't a side road. It was a drive way. A point that only really hit home as they approached a large hedge with huge, wrought iron gates bridging the open part. Locus slowed the car beside them and pulled up to a keypad, leaning out to punch a code into the display. And like that the movie-style gates slowly swung inward. 

“This is the one place I can put you up securely without the risk of you running into Lily,” Locus explained as the car slowly started past the gate and toward a large house that Felix was certain was at least three times the size of the summer home. “To be honest, I never knew what the point of all this room was, but we seemed to make use of most of it when I was growing up.”

Truth be told, Felix wasn't shocked at that statement. A quick count pointed out four floors to the massive construction done all in white and rich red bricks. The driveway, just beyond the gate had turned into cobblestone paving that was so smooth to drive over Felix could have sworn they were moving over glass. If he strained he thought he could see another large building, like a proper normal kind of house off to the side, and beyond that and through a fence, a pool area. Still, even as he looked away, his eyes always came back to the central, looming structure. People actually lived places like this? 

“Jesus fuck,” Felix whispered, finally finding words. “You grew up here? What the fuck, how did you not get lost?” 

When at last the car parked on the far side of a loop that surrounded a rather impressive garden, Felix couldn't help but immediately get out of the car to stare up at the doors that were being lead up to with what looked like marble stairs. Yes, he had understood before that Locus was wealthy, but how wealthy really hadn't sunk in until this moment. “This... this is a really fucking nice place, holy shit.”

He flinched when he heard the car door close behind him, suddenly embarrassed to have forgotten that little detail. And then Locus was at his side, his hand at the small of Felix's back, herding him forward. 

“Uh, so... no one lives here? You just... you just have this place and don't use it?”

* * * * * *

It was fun, watching Felix almost squirm in the face of Locus's childhood home. Truth be told Locus imagined most people would, though he also figured a woman like Lily would call it 'too old fashioned.' So far as he knew it was not only the oldest mansion on the planet, but only recently fallen to the spot of second largest. 

That didn't mean the place was a comfortable location for him anymore. That it meant as much to him as it had as a child, as it had growing up when he had a proper family and not a father who pushed him too hard in the absence of his mother. 

With a sigh he left Felix behind, flipping through the keys in his hand until he found the proper ones to open the door to the manse. 

“Yes, no one uses it. At least, not at this point,” he shrugged as he unlocked the door before him. “I expect Lily will insist on moving here when we're married. As it is... I suppose you could consider it your escape.”

With that he threw the doors open and bowed before Felix in a way he used to remember the family butler doing so long ago. “Please, come in and settle yourself.”

He tried not to chuckle at the look on Felix's face, one of quiet intimidation, and it was a near thing that he kept his silence until the doors were closed behind them.

“I have people come through every few weeks to clean, but nothing more. I believe the lass pass was a week back, so it will be good for a while. While you're here you're welcome to the master bedroom. There should be ample space for you. Plus I doubt anyone would think to look for you here, employer or stalker.”

Or Lily.

Silently Locus started to lead Felix up the wide, winding staircase toward the second floor. He didn't even pause when Felix spoke up again, awe still thick in his voice. 

“I'm definitely going to have to explore here... But, yeah, I don't. Think Tommy will find me here. Oh shit.”

That, on the other hand, had Locus pausing to look back at Felix curiously. 

“I have work tomorrow,” Felix continued, biting at his clearly split lit in a way that made Locus want to wince. “Is... there a bus stop nearby? It's the actual work, through the company. I don't want to do under the table jobs for a while but... I promise I won't bring anyone here. I mean, obviously. I'm trying to hide and all that.”

“Bus stop?” Locus asked, amused. “In this area? No. There's no chance you'll find that. What time to you have to work?” 

With that he continued up the steps, mostly to keep himself from laughing. “I can ask Doyle to come pick you up in the morning and bring you into the city proper if that would work for you.”

“Uh, ten in the morning,” Felix offered, and Locus paused slightly on the landing of the widely spiraling stair to make absolutely certain that Felix followed him down the hall into the main wing. “I'll just hang out at Dolce until I have to meet my client. Tucker can probably lend me some clothes.”

Sometimes Locus wondered if Felix even realized he was talking out loud, but then he realized that it probably didn't matter anyway. “If it's then, I can give you a lift in myself. It's been a while since I've stayed here...”

And with that he brought them to a halt in front of a large door, one carved with extravagant patterns painted with gold, and he pushed it open, revealing what he already knew was a large and lavishly appointed bedroom. This one, he knew from experience, was probably three times as large as the bedroom they had used on the island, and furnished to make the other one seem tame. “Here we are. The bathroom is through that door. I recommend the shower over the bath. Whirlpool tubs can take a while to fill. They're really better for soaking and relaxing than getting clean.”

There was this thing in movies that Locus had never really taken seriously. When some character would walk into a room or a building and stand in the middle, turning slowly to take in everything in their awe. Usually it was lavish hotels or large manses. To see Felix do it now in the bedroom he had always seen as belonging to his parents was... strange. At the same time it made his chest ache. What he would give to offer all of this to Felix. But that was so far into the territory of impossible that he didn't let himself think too much on it. 

“Jesus christ,” Felix laughed as he finally came to a stop, facing away from Locus and looking back over his shoulder. “Why didn't we stay here for the dinner thing?”

Maybe it was that question that made Felix remember the fact that this was just a favor, because just like that he was turning to look at Locus directly, his weight shifting awkwardly from foot to foot before he finally, quietly spoke. “Thanks... for coming through with the favor. Honestly, I didn't expect to spend it in quite this way, but, well... plans change.”

They always seemed to in Locus's estimation. With a sigh and a quirked eyebrow he leaned against the door frame, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. Why couldn't his plans change for him and Felix? 

“I've had this place closed up since my father passed away. It's too large to be useful in most circumstances, and it would have taken too long to prepare for a simple dinner. The island has... always been a more comfortable location for me. Besides, this way this place is private and secure for your use. So don't worry about it. I told you I'd repay your favor, however you deemed fit.”

There was a soft smile on Felix's lips for half a second that made Locus push off of the door and look down at his watch, desperate to look anywhere but at the other man. 

“I think I'm going to run out to pick up something to eat, so you're welcome to stay here and clean up. There should be some clothes in the dresser you can throw on temporarily if you want. They'll be too big, I'm sorry, but you'll have something to wear while I throw your current things through the wash so you have something for tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Felix agreed, clapping his hands. 

And that was all it took for Locus to turn and walk away.


	13. Two Rings

Felix waited for the sound of the bedroom door closing before he finally made a move to deal with his needs. Which meant starting by poking into the drawers of the dressers. They were a beautiful thing, stained cherry red on the outside, and the drawers themselves smelled like cedar and some kind of herb. If he closed his eyes and really focused he though the scent was like the one that mixed with the ocean breeze and made a distinct 'Locus' smell. Maybe thyme? Sage? God he didn't know herbs very well. 

That sort of sentimentality wasn't what he was here for, though. As much as he just wanted to stick his face into the dresser and breathe in deeply, he pulled back and started to paw through the clothes. How sad was it that even the extremely casual t-shirt and sweatpants he ultimately hauled out were higher quality clothes than Felix ever expected to own himself. Asshole even had better stupid t-shirts, how was that possible? 

With a sigh he took the clothes and moved into the bathroom, refusing to let himself be awed. The marble of the area around the sink was nice.. The almost stained-glass appearance of the shower door was magnificent. And Felix just slowly stripped out of his clothes, refused to allow himself to believe in it. Refused to let himself be comfortable here. So, stripped down he turned his attention to the mirror. He looked like a mess, his lip still busted, a few forming bruises. Fine. He could do this...

After his shower Felix searched until he found a first aid kit under the vanity, and he carefully cleaned his wounds with alcohol swabs. He was even pleased to find a tube of liquid bandage, which he used to close the lip as best he could. That done he sighed and stared at his reflection. He looked like hell, and in the end, he couldn't help but let his eyes fall down. He should have put his shirt on first, to hide the glint of metal at his neck. With a sigh his hand came up to touch the simple chain from which hung the ring. 

How many times had he considered selling the thing? It had just been another part of the lie he had played out with Locus. He'd actually gotten to the door of a pawnshop once. The first few weeks post Locus he hadn't had too many jobs, and the thought that he could just sell one thing and make things easier for a month... 

In the end he hadn't been able to part himself with the bauble. Even now as he considered taking the thing off to better hide it from Locus, he found himself instead reaching for the t-shirt and pulling it on to hide the metal from his own vision. 

How was it even possible that what they'd shared on that island, the perfection of the night before 'their' guests had arrived still haunted him. No, haunted wasn't the right word. Taunted him. He longed for the lies they had lived to be real. Instead here he was, still lying to himself. Kept saying he could do this for himself and forget Locus. That he didn't want it. 

With a sigh he stared at himself for another moment in the mirror before he heard movement outside and he flinched. For a split second he panicked, terrified that Tommy had found him. 

But no, that wasn't possible. He was safe here. 

“Felix?” Locus's voice called from the other side of the bathroom door, and a soft rapping accompanied it. “I bought some food if you want... And if you're changed I can take care of your clothes.”

And there was the man he was trying not to think about. Just his luck. Ring out of sight and out of mind Felix started to tidy up his things into a mound even as Locus kept talking. It wasn't like the other man to try and fill silences. Strange. 

“I hope you don't mind pizza. I went with a basic cheese and pepperoni. It occurred to me when I went out that I really didn't know anything about what you like.”

Felix steeled himself the best he could and opened the door of the bathroom, dirty clothes tucked under his arm. “I'm not picky, so basic is fine with me. Thanks.”

Silently he followed Locus out of the bedroom and down into the expansive kitchen. His clothes he left by a closed door as Locus directed and then they both settled down at the small kitchen table that clearly wasn't worthy of the majesty of this massive room. Of course he understood why. This was a mansion, and sometimes this kitchen would be expected to provide for dozens of people, so it needed to be large. Which made the small, simple table tucked into the corner a cozy island in a sea of brushed steel. The whole place was awe inspiring but he just tried to focus on the things that were simpler. Like the soft, golden grain of the table and the absolutely perfect and overwhelmingly wonderful scent of the pizza escaping the box beside him. 

“So... are you planning on staying here?” he asked, trying to keep it conversational. “Wouldn't Lily wonder where you are? Do you live together?” 

It's strange to think about how easy it is to slip into talking with Locus again, like they were right how they were meant to be.

“I will be staying here for the night,” Locus confirmed as he served them both slices of pizza. “Lily is out of town for a few days, but I don't want to risk you in the apartment anyway. I gave her a key for that and she had been known to drop by uninvited. Usually with rose petals and candles and romantic music. If she tries that this time she'll call when she doesn't find me. I'll just tell her I'm working late, which happens enough. She can't get into the office after hours anyway, and I have made it a habit to not her up in those cases.”

Sounded like Locus was dealing with her well enough, despite their earlier conversation. Flowers and music, huh. Felix wondered if Locus would take that same stuff better from him instead of Lily. Doubted it. Their only time together, other than that island blowjob, had been hasty and almost frantic in its energy. So clearly there wasn't really an attempted romance level there. 

Except... There were lots of moments on the island where... The stars. The dinner. The way they touched... 

Felix didn't shake his head, didn't want to draw attention to how out of sorts he was. Instead he just let Locus continue on. 

“Relationships on our level of society aren't... traditionally formatted I suppose,” Locus shrugged. “There will not be a 'moving in' phase that people use as a trail period I suppose. We won't be together until we're married. The relationship is something I can draw out. The last bit of funds her mother provided for my work will continue a bit longer. The courting won't have to escalate in earnest until I require more from her.”

Felix hummed, buying himself time to think of his response as he took a large bite from his pizza. Truth be told with what Locus was saying, he wouldn't want to be in Lily's position. Granted, he didn't want Lily in Lily's position, but that was jealousy speaking. In the end she was going to get the man he loved and he'd get men like Tommy after him. It was bullshit. 

“That...” he paused to swallow and figure out the right wording. “It's like playing a game, you and her.” 

A game not much different from Felix's jobs, but Locus was clearly playing for keeps. And even now, even months later, that still made him bitter. 

“This can be your scandal if you need one,” Felix teased at last before putting on his best shitty reporter voice. “Multi-billionaire playboy cheats on bitch of a girlfriend with ex-husband call-boy. More at 11.”

He laughed, because he needed the outlet more than any real mirth, and had to wince at how it pulled at his lip. The cut was still there, but thanks to the tending earlier he hadn't quite torn it open again. At least his hands had stopped throbbing in pain. 

What made it worth it, though, was the little smirk it brought to Locus's lips. “Nothing that would be considered an affair has occurred, so it isn't cheating. And I do not draw press as often as you'd think, so I'm certain scandal would not be a publicized issue. The only concern would be if Doyle speaks out of turn, and he won't, or if she calls and hears you in the background, which again will not occur.”

Felix watched as Locus's fingers twitched, even as the other man's eyes seemed to settle on Felix's lips. Dammit he liked the look of that. 

“You should stop laughing,” Locus sighed. Sure, he still looked faintly amused, but there also seemed to be something more there, something Felix didn't know how to read. “And smiling. Maybe talking. It's only going ot make the split worse. Consider becoming mute. Lord knows I wouldn't mind the quiet.”

The reminder made Felix lick over the cut, and he was almost pleased that he came up a bit of pizza sauce. Wherever Locus had gotten their dinner from was pretty top notch. “Have you ever known me to shut up? But, fine, I'll be quiet. You know... if you want alone time I can take my pizza and explore. I guess it's the least I can do since you helped me, favor or not.”

Despite the offer he stands, taking his empty plate, and he carried it over to the nearest of the several sinks. He took the moment to wash his hands, his mouth. Then, sure that he could relax with the distance between them, he continued. 

“Still, it would be a story to tell. If you were caught or something. Not that you will be, but... Wait, there I go, talking again. I'll just shut up.”

Of course he won't do that at all. It's too much fun to push Locus's buttons and he liked it, a lot.

“There is nothing to be caught in,” Locus repeated, and Felix chuckled. The whole thing they'd been involved in was nothing more than that. Nothing. Even this was nothing. Just a favor being repaid. Why did that hurt so much?

“The same rules apply here as did in the summer home. If a door is locked, leave it be. Otherwise, you are welcome to explore wherever you want. I would suggest leaving the next door down the hall from you alone, though. That is where I will be staying and I intend to work late.”

With that Locus too pushed away from the table, and Felix just washed him stand and move to put the pizza away in a massive fridge. It was nice to see him move. Nice to know that if somehow he cracked and needed to reach out, to touch, there was the thing he wanted. So close and yet so far away. 

“The laundry room,” Locus said suddenly as he closed the fridge, “is off of that door beside the fridge, where we left your clothes. Go down the narrow haul and use the second door on the left. I'm sure you know how to operate the machines.”

Those eyes were so weighty on him as Locus spoke that Felix found himself nodding and turning away. Part of him hated how much he liked being under that gaze again. Somehow those eyes, that attention made the ring on the chain sit so much heavier against his chest, but he fought to ignore it. 

“Sounds good,” Felix answered. “I'll leave you alone then since you have work to do.”

He wanted to press further, to be a little cruel. More than anything he wanted to find one of the meanest buttons and press it so hard that Locus doubled over in pain. But he doubted that would work out well. 

And yet he still moved to the door, turned, and sent Locus a small smile. A small enough smile to not irritate his cut. It was too easy to pitch his tone into the soft, affectionate, and lying tone he used in the role of Locus's love interest. “Don't work yourself too hard, dear. You'll burn yourself out. You know how much I hate that.”

* * * * * *

That voice, that tone, made Locus want to shout in fury. All this time he'd just been watching Felix, doing his best to resist the urge to pull the other man into his arms and kiss him again. Not just for the intimate contact, something he had more or less lacked since the time at his summer home, but to let himself sink back into the lie where they were together and happy with it. A story he had told himself so well that he'd believed it. Come to live it. A story that was a lie to everyone but him. 

But with those words he wanted, needed to step forward. All of him wanted to slam Felix into a wall and kiss him with every bit of desire he still felt overwhelming him. Because as much as he hated the tone, hated the voice, he loved the words. The way they reached out to the strings of pain in his chest and played them like a violin. Instead he frowned at Felix and wondered what the appropriate reaction to person who you had paid to fake a relationship with you would be in this situation. 

Instead he thrust his hands into his pockets and tried not to say something stupid. Of course doing that was its own trap. The fingers of his left hand brushed the cool metal ring in his pocket. 

He hadn't been able to rid himself of it. The worst part was that even looking at it only reminded him of how deeply he had come to care for this relative stranger. This stranger that he had trusted with his home when he hadn't trusted anyone else with it. God what was he coming to?

“I missed you.”

The words leapt from his lips before he realized it was happening, and there was nothing he could do to call them back. In fact the only thing left to him was to watch as Felix's smile faltered, melted away, and the other man just stared at him. 

“I, um... yeah,” Felix answered slowly, his voice losing the business tone and he just sounded... pensive? Sad? Resigned? “I... really missed you to, Locus.”

His voice was soft, distant, quiet. 

But really, what Locus's attention was on was the gesture Felix made. His hand came up to touch his chest, almost stroking through his shirt. 

The connection was there for Locus almost instantly. Maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe it was the fact that Locus's hand was in his own pocket, toying with his ring. Well, probably the wishful thinking in truth, and it got him moving quickly. Got him across the room, pinning Felix against a wall like he'd wanted to. And his right hand came up to press against where Felix was touching, the light pressure revealing a loop of metal. 

Meanwhile, in his pocket, Locus carefully and quickly fumbled with his thumb and pinkie finger to slide his ring into place on his hand. That done said hand came up to cup Felix's face. While he wanted his hand to mold to Felix's face, he wasn't sure he wanted Felix to know his own ring was there just yet. So he had to have Felix's attention elsewhere, which was on him he hoped as he leaned forward to kiss the other man's forehead. Only his forehead, because more was too far too soon. 

“Maybe... there is a scandal waiting to happen here.”

He could feel Felix's heart pounding under his hand, feel his breathing slow as Locus held the other man close. Felix's body was so hot, radiating warmth that Locus wanted to drink up, and Locus had to fight not to lean in and smell Felix. He could already pick up a bit of scent on him without trying. Pizza. Cedar and rosemary from the dresser. And the fresh ocean breeze scent that Locus insisted come with all his toiletries. To smell all of that mixed with Felix's own smell, one he couldn't explain, was perfect. 

“Alert the press then,” Felix answered quietly, and Locus was almost frustrated at the way the other man didn't look up at him. “Actually... don't. Won't be good for your image.”

It's a deflection, and Locus knew they both knew it. There was no denying that he could feel the ring under his right hand, that it was exciting him to no end. The potential of it's presence was too much. An admission neither of them had ever offered, and seemed that it might be there as well. Probably forced his own awareness of the ring home to Felix with how his thumb was rubbing over the hidden metal through the t-shirt Felix was wearing.

Neither of them spoke for a while, until Locus found Felix's hand twisting to rest on his chest. For a moment he thought he would be pushed away, and instead he found Felix's thumb echoing the motion of his own, stroking Locus's skin through his own shirt.

“You could have sold it,” Locus observed, his voice just barely above a whisper. “It would have been some additional capital, considering how little of what I meant to pay you over the years apparently ever made it into your pocket.”

Truth be told Locus could have sold his own, instead of carrying it everywhere with him. Instead he had put it back on and held Felix with it, yet to prove it's presence with a touch. But soon. The right moment..

“It's not like it ever meant anything other than the burden of the charade.”

The comment earned him a small, huffing laugh and eyes still cast down and away from him. God what he'd give to have Felix look up and let him see if he couldn't find a truth he liked in those eyes. 

“Are you kidding me? It was my trophy for the best fucking act I ever pulled off,” Felix answered, voice also soft but... miserable? God was this just making Felix miserable? He could let the other man go and...

Those eyes finally rose to look at him. No, not just look. Meet his gaze intently. “That... and it was a gift from you, so...” 

Felix shrugged, and Locus would have taken it as a dismissal, an indication that Felix didn't want to talk to him, or be near him, but then there was that soft hand curling in the material of Locus's shirt, demanding he didn't leave. Even pulled him closer. 

“You never struck me as the kind of person to put such stock in gifts,” Locus admitted, finally lowering his hand from Felix's cheek. Instead his right hand moved to wrap around Felix's waist as his left pressed against the ring. The metal of his own ring pressed against Felix's through the thing material of the shirt. He stared briefly at the glint of metal on his own hand, where it belonged. 

“I never thought I was very sentimental either. I suppose I cannot begrudge you that. I guess... you did say we deserved awards for how well we performed. You were masterful... I almost believed it was real.”

“I had a good partner for the act, so...” Felix answered. “I... almost believed it too. It was a nice fantasy, huh? My specialty.”

Hearing that hurt. A fantasy. Was the ring really just a trophy? No, it had to be more. Locus needed it to be more. 

When Felix continued his voice was light and playful, but edging into serious. “We can... reenact some scenes, if you want.”

Was that Felix offering to let Locus be an under the table client? An offer of sex? That was far from what Locus wanted. 

“I'd rather make new ones,” Locus offered, hoping the question, the offer really came through in his tone and in the press of his hand against Felix's chest. “More lasting scenes. Maybe the ones we only paid lip service to in the past.”

How was it possible that his lips and tongue and heart were running so far ahead of his mind? This was a mistake, always a mistake. He had promised himself that he'd cut himself off from this. From the man as much as from the emotions. They were hardly conducive to the cold, calculating plan he had arranged his life along. 

Of course... he'd never thought he could aim for happiness in the past. Now, though...?

“I'd like to explore our first date. First kiss. The first time I promise you the world...”

All of this was going to get him into trouble, and all at once, he didn't care. The risk was more than worth the reward. Even rejection was worth it. Because in this moment he was being honest with himself. An honesty he hadn't thought possible before finding Felix still carried his ring.

As he spoke he had the chance to watch Felix's eyes go wider with each other, feel his heart start racing like the world was ending.

Depending on Felix's answer, it could well be.

* * * * * *

It was almost like his heart was stopping. Felix tried to scramble for an answer, but damn it if Locus was the only person that always seemed to leave him speechless. The hand on his chest pressed the ring into his skin more, burning and chilling him and making his whole body long for more. The question, he supposed, was why he kept this thing anyway? 

The answer was, of course, simple. It was one he had come to understand when he had left the island. One he still hated to admit to. Truth be told, the things Locus was offering to him he wanted so badly, but hadn't he promised himself that he'd stop? He was doing so well these past months, only thinking about Locus at night when he got too lonely. That was all he had allowed himself beyond the ring. 

Yet he knew what he had been tempting when he'd called in the favor. Sure, Locus was honestly the only person he could think of who could help, but he wasn't stupid either. There had been a part of him, one that whispered in his head every night, that had hoped something like this would happen. Now that it was here in front of him, though, he found himself almost cowering. 

He spared another moment of looking at Locus before he just gave up, gave in, and threw himself headfirst into everything he had wanted and feared. 

His grip in Locus's shirt tightened and he pulled, tilting his head so he could press his lips to Locus's in a proper kiss, more than a touch desperate. 

* * * * * *

There were so many things Locus wanted from the second Felix's lips were pressed against his. He wanted to call Lily and tell her to go jump off a bridge. Wanted to tell Doyle he was right and that if he gloated for even a second Locus would have his job and maybe his head. Wanted to tear the ring from Felix's neck and try to give it to him properly, like he'd wanted for a long time now. And pressing up the fastest in his mind, clawing at him most desperately was an urge to spread Felix out below him on the floor and have him then and there, spread and pleading below him. Felix had tasted and felt so good below him the last time, but no... this time he had to do it properly. Had to give more than he dared to take. 

None of that was what he did, of course. What happened was that he met the desperation he was given with his own, and there was more than just a bit of that. There was enough desperation that his hands were on the movie, his right pressing into the small of Felix's back to press them more firmly together, the left tightening in the shirt Felix wore, over the ring. He wanted to clutch that token, that memento, anchor himself to the simple possession that Felix hadn't gotten rid of. The contract through cloth wasn't quite enough to make it real, but it was so close. And so satisfying. 

At last Locus pulled back, his lips feeling swollen despite how brief the contact had been. He'd met Felix's kiss so hard that maybe it had been stupid, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. This was one of the rare moments where he couldn't find it in himself to care about restraint. Like the last time he had been with Felix in their desperation. He licked his lips as he stared at Felix, enjoyed the flush to his face and the redness of his lips. Looking at Felix like this was just... another temptation and wonder. There had been so much intensity in their contact that Locus doubted either of them were lying to themselves anymore. 

Still, he had to be certain. 

He had to know if this could work. 

“I'm not one of your under the table clients, Felix,” he whispered. “This has never been that frivolous to me.”

* * * * * *

Felix watched that tongue move and he wanted to catch it, to suck it into his mouth. Locus's hands felt so right on him, and he wanted to feel them everywhere. His arms, his shoulders, his back. Sliding over his legs and parting them as the lips explored his body and claimed him. Really claimed him. Left marks everywhere that would go over poorly at work, and Felix didn't care. He wanted bites and bruises and scratches, little marks he could see in the mirror and know he was owned by a man he had accidentally come ot love. 

His own hands found themselves on Locus's shoulders, rubbing at them, working their way up the back of Locus's neck. There was a low, almost purring sound from Locus, and god Felix wanted to spend weeks trying to find all the ways to draw that sound from Locus. And to find other sounds. A hundred thousand other expressive sounds of hunger and desire. 

“You're not,” he answered immediately, his voice weak to the point where he had to clear his throat before he continued. “You're not a client or anything. You're...” 

He wasn't sure to be honest. He didn't know what to say. Well, he did. He wanted to say that Locus was his, not Lily's, never Lily's. Never again would Locus belong to anyone but him. 

Instead he just kissed Locus again before he could say any of that and look like a fool. He kissed Locus hungrily, licked the seam of his lips, nipped lightly at his lower lip. Both of his hands slid forward to cup Locus's face and hold it still for himself even as his body pressed forward to fit against Locus's. 

And god did his body fit. Fit like a dream he'd had a hundred times before. Fit like he'd been made to curl against Locus, to share a passion and more with him. Fit like he never should have left Locus's bed the first time, and yet they had both let go so many times. Kept acting like they hadn't known from the moment they kissed in the kitchen in Locus's apartment that this wasn't right. 

As Felix deepened the kiss he found Locus leaning down, pressing forward as if to cover him, and wouldn't that be lovely? At the same time Locus's hand loosened in his shirt and Felix hated that until those fingers instead found their way into his hair, to tangle and grip and guide. 

It was so good to taste Locus after so long, and weird how much he had missed it. Weirder was the way he couldn't hold back the desperate sound from far back in his throat, his hands sliding back down Locus's chest and gripping his shirt to pull him closer. No. Fuck the shirt as a way to keep Locus close. Instead his fingers quickly started to under the buttons of Locus's shirt. If he could, he'd have the other man here and now. 

Locus was even so obliging as to roll his shoulders and help Felix slide the shirt off until he was bare chested again before Felix. That body, god that beautiful body. 

“I really want you right now,” Felix admitted as he broke the kiss and looked appreciatively over the man before him. 

Would it break whatever was holding them here, holding them together, if he asked for that? Felix licked his licks and looked up at Locus, trying to look more confident than he felt, his heart racing. 

* * * * * *

“No,” Locus answered, stilling Felix. God he wanted to just say yes, just go through everything that was racing through his mind one step at a time. But they couldn't do this without talking first. “I'm... I'm not doing this again, Felix. I'm not fucking you and walking away. I can't do that anymore. Not after what we've shared. What I want to share with you.”

His eyes moved to Felix's chest, where he knew the ring had to be. “I can't do meaningless with you. Never with you. Not again.”

Felix smiled in response, laughed as well in a mocking way, and he nodded. “Yeah. Meaningless. That's what it's always been.”

Locus could feel Felix's body tensing in his hands, ready to move away, and his grip only tightened. “Why DO we do this? Why do you kiss me and why do I let you and why do you let me? Why do we always get here then back out?”

Each question was louder, harsher, angrier, and Locus could do nothing but stare as Felix piled on question after question faster than he could latch on to any on and answer. 

“Why the fuck did I even call you? I should have just sucked it up and went back to my place.”

No. Locus was not letting them get here, get so close and lose it all. Clearly what they had here was a communication problem. Probably one that had been there as long as they had known each other. And he wasn't losing this, everything they were and could be, to a problem of talking to each other. 

“Idiot,” Locus shook his head. “It's never been meaningless when it came to you. Every last moment I've had at your side has meant something to me. I kiss you because I want to feel your lips against mine. I don't know why you let me, but I let you because I want it. I need it. More than anything, I want to share this with you. I want to... I want to give you all of this.”

All he could do was gesture weakly around them, as if to take the whole of the mansion, the whole of his life in with a single gesture. 

“I'm... I'm saying that I can't do this if all you want form me is to fuck and run. That isn't what this is to me.”

Once again he leaned in, pulled Felix close, and seized his lips. This time the kiss was slow and tender, and just like how he'd kissed Felix when he'd been pretending they were something to each other that had seemed so far out of reach. 

Kissed Felix like they could be everything to each other. 

And of course Felix had to ruin it by pushing Locus back. “I... wanna cash in my second favor,” Felix said quietly and Locus looked away. 

He wasn't ready to say goodbye. 

* * * * * *

Which, of course, wasn't what it was. For Felix it was... If they were going to do this, if he was going to accept this, then he didn't want anything else holding them together. Because truth be told he was sick of this, sick of pretending it was all okay and that they could be something that they weren't. That weekend was supposed to be the last time they met, their final contact. Those favors, though, he had kept as a chance of meeting Locus again. A taunt, a tease, a desire he wanted to give in to and couldn't risk. If he ended that connection, he could allow for something more. Or just have it done.

“What is it?” Locus asked, his voice low and worried. Felix hated it like that. Locus was too confident of a man to sound like this.

Felix inhaled to steel himself, before he finally opened his mouth. “After this, we have no reason to see each other and I have no intentions of being... Being around if you and Lily are together. But I really...” 

Locus looked away, and Felix just kept on. 

“I can't stop. I can't fucking stop,” Felix insisted, his voice getting higher and he didn't know why. So he just channeled his anger, looking up at Locus, but really, he's not angry at him. He's angry at himself. Angry for being weak and breaking his own rules. “I hate that I want you all the time. I hate that when we were apart all I thought about was 'what is Locus doing?' 'what would he think about this?' 'I should tell him about this dick I had to entertain' and all that other bullshit! I mean.... we were together, once, and then somewhere along the line I...”

Felix cut himself off abruptly and looked away. For along moment he just breathed, just let himself calm down. It was shocking to find that Locus didn't immediately try to fill the void his silence had left. Yet silence there was, and when he felt calm he reached down and pulled the chain and ring out and let it hang in the open air between them. 

“We... talked a lot about our fake honeymoon,” Felix continued at last, voice low. “And the wedding. It sounded really good, right? You said I sold it so well you almost believed it, and fuck, I almost did too. I want... I want to know what that night would have been like, for real. You can say no, Locus, and that will just be that. Both of my favors gone and done for, and then I go back home when it's safe. I'll leave you alone.”

Just like that. All of everything hanging in the air between them.

It wasn't left there long. Before Felix could even catch his breath there was a hand cupping his cheek, warm metal and warmer fingers pressing against his skin and making him almost sigh happily at the contact. Damn he was desperate for so much as a kiss from this other man. What was wrong with him. And then the hand was gone, falling instead to cup his ring in Locus's palm. Silver glints next to silver and it looks so right there. Would look better if they were both wearing them, but Felix just kept still, held his breath as Locus rubbed his thumb against the metal of Felix's ring. 

“And if I don't want a night like that?” Locus asked quietly, and Felix could feel his heart sinking. Was this really it? They could be on the cusp of something great and then...

“What if I want to earn that night in earnest? What if I want all the days leading up to it? What if I don't want this to be the last time we see each other?” Locus continued, each question making Felix's heart pound faster. 

And then Locus dropped the ring back to his chest, pulling away. 

“I don't hate that I want you all the time. I don't hate that I think you at night when I'm alone in the office. Think about you whenever I'm alone. Maybe you're right. Maybe you should go and leave me alone. But that is so desperately far from what I want. I want... I want you. I want to give you everything. I want to earn every last bit of you.”

When Felix laughed it didn't come out nearly as giddy as he felt. “You're so fucking dumb, Locus. Why the fuck did I have to go and get myself invested in you of all people? You don't need to earn me, you idiot. I'm standing right fucking here, aren't I? What do... do you want to do this old fashioned? Because we're anything but that if you hadn't noticed.”

Felix shook his head and looked up at Locus again, meeting and holding his gaze. “I had all these rules and they were there for a reason. So I didn't have... so this sort of thing didn't happen. But it has and now what do I do? Especially now? What do we do? You're in this thing with Lily, I can't exactly come back into your life so what are we supposed to do? It might be so much easier to walk away from you, but I don't want to. I want you to want me like I want you.”

* * * * * *

Well that was a request that Locus was pretty sure that he could at least fulfill. Especially since he wanted Felix more than he'd wanted anything ever. So truly, his answer was a pretty obvious one, wasn't it?

“Fuck Lily,” he declared. “Lily is a tool. Has only ever been a tool for me. I never expected to find anything more fulfilling than someone to use who was willing to have me. So I didn't bother looking. Lily frankly isn't important in this discussion, Felix. I'd rather have you in my life than her in my funds.”

Still, this was no longer a conversation that he could have standing. With a sigh Locus pulled away from the other man and made his way back to the kitchen table. The distance felt so great, and he found himself so weary as he sat back down and looked to Felix. “I want you back in my life. I've never been happier than I was in that single weekend with you. It was bittersweet, yes, buit still so good. Better than good really. Amazing. Everything I told you I felt I really felt. So I'm pretty sure I want you like you want me, and I'm not entirely sure how that's a problem.”

For a moment he let himself believe that Felix would move after him, chase after him and sit back at the table. Instead he watched as Felix shifted to lean against the door and cast his eyes to the floor. Again silence seemed to rule them for a time. It was like neither of them knew what to say, how to express it all. Which made sense. It felt quite clear that there was a chance they'd both been avoiding the conversation for a long time. 

“My favorite part of the story was how we met,” Felix said at length. “My 'mother' introducing us at some social gathering and I had no idea what was going on but you were patient and kind enough to indulge me. To guide me. Apparently I was smitten with you since then. Which is totally the opposite of what has happened, but... There's always been something cute about it, even though knowing you know, I'm certain you would have never done that for anyone.”

True enough, but Locus wasn't going to speak up when Felix was opening up. 

“What if we took this one step at a time? See what happens I guess. You don't have to tell Lily anything. I continue working so no one catches on and we just... see what happens.”

When Felix didn't continue Locus realized it was a very legitimate offer. Interesting. But he needed more time to figure out a response, needed to think, and the best way to buy that time was to just talk. Something he had never been great at off the cuff. 

“I like how we actually met far better. You were stunning that night. I prefer that what we are built up slowly, without me noticing. I like that I'm... in love with you.”

There. The words were out there and this time he had no desire to call them back. So he just smiled fondly at Felix, hoping that would help the words sink in as he put his own offer on the table. 

“Let me take you to dinner. The first night you're not working. It's something we've never tried before, and something I would like.” The potential answer had him anxious enough that when Locus looked down at his hands he found that at some point he had started twisting the ring on his own finger. 

“I'm in love with you Felix,” he repeated, firmer, trying to add the strength of said emotion to his voice. “Nothing in my life can ever compare to kissing you under the stars. Or cooking for you. Or the way your legs shake when you reach your orgasm. I could... I can and want to live in moments like those. To live for those things and more.”

When he looked up he found Felix staring at him, staring at the ring on his hand, and the smile he wore was perfectly sculpted beauty.

“I'm in love with you too,” Felix answered, and Locus felt his heart skip a beat. “I'm really in love with you too. I don't know how you do this to me, you asshole. I fought it. I swear I fought it so hard but fuck you for getting under my skin and just... Fuck you. Okay. Dinner. I'll check with Kimball for when I'm free and get back to you. God, the next few days are going to be some kind of ride.”

But there was no malice in his voice, not for anything. Just fondness. The same fondness Locus had for that beautiful smile and the soft look in Felix's eyes. So he pushed back to his feet, suddenly re-energized, and he moved to Felix, catching the other man in his arms again. 

“Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you?” Locus chuckled as he held Felix in his arms. “Kiss you and touch you and give you a better night than I've ever offered before? There's no more running away from this Felix. Not unless you want it to stop and stop forever. Because I can't see you again if it's not like this.”

That made Felix laugh, and Locus wasn't sure why, but he smiled anyway at the sound. 

* * * * * *

It was pure, dizzying joy that brought the laugh from Felix, but he'd never admit to that. Instead he just wrapped his arms around Locus's shoulders as he got used to the lovely weight of Locus's arms around his waist. 

“You make it sound like you'd spoil me. Don't do that. I can take care of myself. But yeah, I want that from you, all the stupid romantic and loving stuff. A real chance. So... We're agreed then? We don't hook up but actually go through all the emotions and courting and shit?”

The very thought of being actively pursued by a man like Locus, claimed by him and courted in all the high society ways their stories had always alluded to was exciting. More than anything he wanted the chance to rub it in everyone's face. Especially Lily's. He'd won. Maybe. For now. 

“Think I should send Lily a gift basket?” he mused quietly, mostly to himself. 

“A gift basket?” Locus asked quietly. But really, Felix's attention was less on that question than on the kiss Locus left just behind his ear. That was damn nice and send a delicious shiver down his spine. “Send a card with it. Something witty. Maybe 'sorry about the ex-boyfriend' or something. That should do nicely.”

Felix laughed to keep himself from moaning as Locus's lips continued down his neck, each one delivered in a way that almost overlapped it with the last. It wasn't until Locus's lips hit that sensitive spot between neck and shoulder that Locus continued. 

“I have every intention of courting you, Felix. It wouldn't do for a man in my position, or of my background, to give you anything less than a full courtship. Of course I'd be quite happy to just celebrate our decision for now by spreading you on any and every one of the beds in this house and making you scream for me.”

This time the laughter kept Felix from begging for just that. 

“That sounds enticing,” Felix agreed, trembling in Locus's arms. “Don't offer things you aren't willing to follow through on.”

Everything was going to be okay, Felix realized in that moment. Sure there was still a tension between them, and still so much to talk about and solve. But in that moment Felix found himself certain that they'd manage every last detail in the proper time. The only thing he was concerned about in this moment was one question. 

“What do we do now?”

“You start helping me with follow through,” Locus provided immediately. “There is no shortage of beds in this place. We used to maintain a number of live in staff in addition to the family. What I'm proposing could take us a good while, Felix. Choose a room every night we're together here and we'll tackle our goal one at a time. Give ourselves weeks of elicit meetings and pleasure. For the first time in a long time this place can feel used. Feel alive. Think you could help me with that?”

Felix closed his eyes and smiled, trying to imagine that. “You know what, Locus? You're talking my style,” he answered, hugging the other man to him. He had never really hugged Felix before this and it was just nice to feel the strength of that body against him. 'Wanna get started now? We can start in the master bedroom.”

“Right now,” Locus whispered in his ear, “I want to start this with you giving me a promise.”

Felix looked up at his (friend, boyfriend, lover?) and waited for the request. What he got was Locus's hand pressed over his ring, pressing it into his chest. 

“Keep this until I can offer it to you properly. Everything between then and now is for you.”

For a moment all Felix could do was smile. At last he nodded. That was a promise he could keep. 

Then they're kissing again, hard and desperately hungry all over again, and for Felix it's the most perfect moment ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with us guys. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
